Teri Slade
Introduce yourself...
My name is Teri Slade. My pronouns are she/her. I love connecting people, talking about research methodology, teaching, and learning. Prior to the pandemic, I enjoyed a busy schedule of music-making, dancing, and hosting events. These days I bake a lot of bread and take a lot of walks.
What are you researching and what do you hope comes out of your research?
I am researching the relationship of gender to health outcomes, specifically pain. There has been a lot of research in gender and pain, but it seems very few researchers previously have considered the day-to-day lives of people with pain and virtually none have considered gender outside of restrictive male and female categories, making trans and non-binary people virtually invisible in this research. I hope my research can start to break down some of those barriers and help other researchers build more inclusive and equitable research studies.
How did presenting a Three Minute Thesis (3MT) help explain your research to the public?
I'm a big fan of communicating research in accessible ways. If our work only exists in academic language, it will be unlikely to create real social change.
What inspires you to do research?
There is an incredible need to make healthcare more inclusive and equitable. If we want to make healthcare a safe place for all people, we need to both educate healthcare professionals and conduct more equitable research. My PhD work is focused on the research side of things. One thesis can't change the world, but if we all start to push for more inclusive research and healthcare, we can make big changes together.
Every research participant I speak with inspires me to continue. There are so many people who are not represented in research and who are misunderstood or mistreated in healthcare. If I can contribute in some way to making healthcare more inclusive, it is worthwhile.
What are three keywords important to your 3MT?
Listen with humility. I end my interviews by asking people if they have one message they'd like to pass on to healthcare providers and researchers. This summarizes the things I hear most frequently.
How has your research changed during COVID-19?
I have been able to pivot my research to entirely online interactions.
If you had to dedicate your research to anyone from the past, present, or future, who would it be and why?
I would dedicate my research to every person who has been dismissed in healthcare because of who they are.