The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University’s Heller School leads research that helps shape policies, programs and practices which improve the lives of people with disabilities across the lifespan.

We partner with people with disabilities, community organizations, policymakers, and clinicians to produce research that addresses the critical issues that people with disabilities and their families face. This research incorporates qualitative and quantitative projects that are informed by the disability community and grounded in disability justice. Our research team includes established academic scholars, postdoctoral fellows, professional research staff, and student research assistants. We prioritize mentorship of the next generation of researchers.

What's Happening at the Lurie Institute

Inclusion of Black and Latina Parents With Physical Disabilities in a Qualitative Research Study: A Peer Researcher Training Model

Inclusion of Black and Latina Parents with Physical Disabilities in a Qualitative Research StudyCompared to a small but growing community of Black and Latinx academic researchers with disabilities, there is little inclusion in the research process of non-academic community members with similar intersectional identities. Lurie Institute researchers conducted a qualitative study examining the pregnancy experiences of people from Black/Latinx communities who have physical disabilities that involved training four peer researchers to conduct interviews and analyze the data. This article describes the researchers' approach and suggests how it might offer a model for training peer researchers in qualitative research methodology.

Access the research publication

Plain-language summary to come soon!

Two-Part Series on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Mothers

Two-Part Series on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing MothersNow in ASL format!

This research report series from the National Center for Disability & Pregnancy Research describes Lurie Institute research in collaboration with researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School on the pregnancy and postpartum experiences of Deaf and hard-of-hearing mothers.

Access the 2-part series in ASL video format

We're Hiring a Budget Consultant!

We Are Hiring! Budget Consultant

The Budget Consultant will track subawards and external consultant invoicing and payments; follow up with external partners for invoicing; complete paperwork required to onboard external consultants; process honorarium payments; assist with Associate Directors to manage budgets of grant-funded research and staff-effort allocations. The consultant should have a strong attention to detail and a passion for organizing processes, along with proficiency in Excel functions, including pivot tables. Starting at 5–8 hrs/ week at $65/hr.

Email résumé and cover letter

Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship 2024: Robin Wilson-Beattie

Accessing Reproductive Justice: Using Intersectional Self-, Systems, and Community Advocacy to Create Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and Expression - A conversation with Robin Wilson-Beattie

A conversation with Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellow Robin Wilson-Beattie and Rebecca Cokley took place on March 7, 2024 at 5 p.m. ET. 

Robin's groundbreaking insights into the intersection of disability, sexuality, healthcare, design, and identity have revolutionized sexual-health education.

📆 Recording of the Keynote Event available soon

Disability Research for a New Generation

Photo of Monika Mitra, Shoshana Finkel, Alanna Levy, Norma Stobbe, Monica Chen, Rachel Steinberg. Front row: Shira Levie, Judy Heumann, Max Tang. Text on picture reads "Disability Research for a New Generation"

The Lurie Undergraduate Fellowship offers opportunity to learn policy and create community.

For more than half a century, the Brandeis University community has championed the rights of people with disabilities, part of the school’s commitment to social justice.

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Current Featured Work

'I challenge them a bit': Encounters between Parents with Disabilities and the Medical Institution

Webinar: 'I challenge them a bit': Encounters between Parents with Disabilities and the Medical Institution

In this Center for Parents with Disabilities webinar, Drs. Herrera and Rojas explore how the barriers that people with disabilities face actually increase when parents with disabilities require medical attention for their children.

Webinar: The Role of the HHS Office for Civil Rights in Advancing Rights for Disabled Parents: Safeguards in Child Welfare Cases

Webinar: The Role of the HHS Office for Civil Rights in Advancing Rights for Disabled Parents

National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities hosted a webinar on how the HHS Office for Civil Rights can apply safeguards in child welfare cases and protect the rights of disabled parents. With Carla Carter of the HHS Office for Civil Rights and Robyn Powell of NRCPD. Webinar recording now available.

Disability Identity and Pride in Equity Research - Webinar Recap & Summary Available

Disability Identity & Pride in Equity Research: New CLEC Publications

Now Available! The extended recap and 2-page summary of CLEC's first-ever webinar, on Disability Identity & Pride in Equity Research, outlining the themes and recommendations that emerged.

Looking at HCBS Equity at a State Level

Webinar on HCBS Equity on a State Level

The Community Living Equity Center held its second webinar on Looking at HCBS Equity on a State Level. Access the recording.
“People with disabilities, like everybody else, should have the supports to live and to thrive in their communities.”
—Monika Mitra, Director of the Lurie Institute