Bonnielin Swenor

Bonnielin Swenor (née Sceurman) is an American epidemiologist who is an associate professor and director of the Johns Hopkins University Disability Health Research Center.[1] She seeks to address inequities impacting people with disabilities and change public perception of disability, away from "living with disability" and toward "thriving with a disability".

Bonnielin Swenor
Born
Bonnielin Sceurman
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
Pennsylvania State University
Scientific career
InstitutionsJohns Hopkins University
ThesisVisual impairment and mobility disability: the Salisbury Eye Evaluation Study (2013)
Doctoral advisorSheila West

Early life and education

Swenor was an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University, where she majored in microbiology and biochemistry. She moved to the Johns Hopkins University for graduate research and specialized in epidemiology. She completed her doctoral research under the supervision of Sheila West. Her doctorate considered visual impairment and mobility disability.[2] As a student, she experienced rapid vision loss: multiple broken blood vessels in her retinas.[3] She was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging, where she worked alongside Stephanie Studenski and Luigi Ferrucci.

Research and career

Swenor started her independent academic career at Johns Hopkins University, where she founded the Disability Health Research Center.[4] She is committed to ending health inequities for people with disabilities. She has said that her research is motivated by her own experiences of living with vision impairment.[5][6] Swenor's research has examined the relationship between vision loss and brain function, and the impact of vision loss on mental health. She joined the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute in 2014 and later joined the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 2022.[7]

Swenor has argued that scientists with disabilities should have improved access to scientific funding. Although one in four Americans have a disability, only around 10% of employed scientists have one. In an interview Swenor said, "To reflect the realities of our society, we should have far more people with disabilities working in research and medicine,".[8] She has argued that open access research can benefit people with disabilities, who struggle to access data and peer-reviewed publications in accessible formats.[9] She believes that data must be accessible, and that partnerships with the disability community are key for public health strategies.[10]

In 2021, Swenor was elected to The Ophthalmologist Power List.[11]

Selected publications

References
  1. https://disabilityhealth.jhu.edu/
  2. "Visual impairment and mobility disability: the Salisbury Eye Evaluation Study | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  3. "A Woman's Journey Baltimore 2019 | Lunch with the Faculty: High Sights for Low Vision". YouTube.
  4. "Bonnielin K. Swenor | Health Affairs Author". Health Affairs. doi:10.1377/hauthor20220824.646144 (inactive 1 August 2023). Retrieved 2022-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2023 (link)
  5. "National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC)". National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC). Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  6. Varadaraj, Varshini; Ehrlich, Joshua R.; Swenor, Bonnielin K. (2022-05-24). "Vision Impairment Has Implications for Aging and Health Outcomes, Beyond Ophthalmology". JAMA Network Open. 5 (5): e2214610. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.14610. ISSN 2574-3805. PMID 35608864.
  7. "Bonnielin Swenor: Faculty Directory".
  8. "Studies show number of US medical students with disabilities grows, but disparities continue". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  9. Skerrett, Patrick (2022-09-06). "Open access to research can close gaps for people with disabilities". STAT. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  10. Swenor, Bonnielin K. (2022). "A Need For Disability Data Justice". Health Affairs Forefront. doi:10.1377/forefront.20220818.426231.
  11. "Bonnielin Swenor". The Ophthalmologist. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
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