Lisa M. Meeks, Ph.D., M.A.

Dr. Meeks is an expert in disabilities in medical education. As an administrative leader and researcher, she is helping to inform policy and best practice in the area of disability inclusion for medical education, training and practice. Her research interests include: Improving access to medical education for learners with disabilities, medical student and resident well-being, reducing health care disparities in patients with disabilities, and the performance and trajectory of learners and physicians with disabilities. Her work has been published in the NEJM, Lancet, JAMA, and Academic Medicine and featured on NPR, in the Washington Post, CNBC, Bloomberg Law, Time Magazine, and AAMC News.

Dr. Meeks is the co-founder and Past President of the Coalition for Disability Access in Health Science and Medical Education, co-developer of both the AAMC Disability Webinar Series and edited and authored the leading books on the topic, including Disability as Diversity, the casebook companion, and Equal Access for Students with Disabilities: The Guide for Health Science and Professional Education, Second Edition. She is also the lead author of the AAMC Special Report: Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities, co-creator of the social media campaign #DocsWithDisabilities, co-host of the Docs With Disabilities Podcast, and director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative.

Research Interests

• Improving access to medical education for learners with disabilities
• Medical student and resident well-being
• Reducing health care disparities in patients with disabilities
• Performance and trajectory of learners and physicians with disabilities

Department Areas

• Disability Health

Advanced Degrees

M.A., Specialization in Developmental Psychology, University of Alabama Huntsville

Ph.D., Learning and Development, Urban Education, Cleveland State University

Key Publications

1. Meeks LM, Plegue M, Case B, Swenor BK, Sen S. Assessment of Disclosure of Psychological Disability Among US Medical Students. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(7):e2011165. Published 2020 Jul 1. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.11165
2. Meeks LM, Case B, Plegue M, Moreland CJ, Jain S, Taylor N. National Prevalence of Disability and Clinical Accommodations in Medical Education. J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2020 Oct 20;7:2382120520965249. doi: 10.1177/2382120520965249. 
3. Curry RH, Meeks LM, Iezzoni LI. Beyond Technical Standards: A Competency-Based Framework for Access and Inclusion in Medical Education. Acad Med. 2020 Dec;95(12S Addressing Harmful Bias and Eliminating Discrimination in Health Professions Learning Environments):S109-S112. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003686
4. Patwari R, Ferro-Lusk M, Finley E, Meeks LM. Using a Diagnostic OSCE to Discern Deficit from Disability in Struggling Students. Acad Med. 2020 Apr 21. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003421. 
5. Meeks LM, Maraki I, Singh S, Curry RH. Global commitments to disability inclusion in health professions. Lancet. 2020 Mar 14;395(10227):852-853. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30215-4. 

6. Change in Prevalence of Disabilities and Accommodation Practices Among US Medical Schools, 2016 vs 2019. LM Meeks, B Case, K Herzer, M Plegue, BK Swenor Jama 322 (20), 2022-2024

7. Swenor B, Meeks LM. Disability Inclusion — Moving Beyond Mission Statements. New England Journal of Medicine. 2019;380(22):2089-2091. doi:10.1056/nejmp1900348.
8. Meeks LM, Jain NR. Accessibility, inclusion, and action in medical education: Lived experiences of learners and physicians with disabilities. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges. March 13, 2018. Online here.

9. Meeks, L. M., Herzer, K., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Removing Barriers and Facilitating Access: Increasing the Number of Physicians With Disabilities. Academic Medicine, 93(4), 540-543. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002112

10. Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accommodating chronic health conditions in medical education. Disability Compliance for Higher Education, 23(10), 1-6. doi: 10.1002/dhe.30432

11. Meeks, L.M., Richards, A., Chang, A., & VanSchaik, Sandrijn (2017). Working with students with disabilities: simulation-based faculty development. Medical Education. doi: 10.1111/medu.13423
12. Meeks, L.M., & Jain, N.R. Accommodating students on anatomy and other lab practical exams. Disability Compliance for Higher Education. doi: 10.1002/dhe.30347
13. Brown, J. T., Meeks, L.M, and Rigler, M. (2017), Mental Health Concerns of Students on the Autism Spectrum. New Directions for Student Services, 2016: 31–40. doi:10.1002/ss.20189
14. Meeks, L.M., Thierfeld Brown, J., & Warczak, J. Accommodating learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Clinical Setting. Disability Compliance for Higher Education. In Press.
15. Meeks, L.M., & Herzer, K.R. (2016). Prevalence of Self-Disclosed Disability Among Medical Students in U.S. Allopathic Medical Schools. JAMA. 2271-2272. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.10544
16. Meeks, L.M., Jain, N.R., Herzer, K. R. (2016). Universal Design: Supporting Students with Color Vision Deficiency (CVD) in Medical Education.  Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. (29) 3.
17. Meeks, L. M, & Herzer, K. R. (2015). Accommodated MCAT Time and Performance Measurements. JAMA, 314(14), 1517-1518. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.10741
18. Meeks, L.M. & Masterson, T. (2016). Parties, Dorms and Social Norms: A Crash Course in Safe Living for Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum. London, United Kingdom: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN: 9781849057462
19. Meeks, L.M. & Jain, N. (Eds.). (2015). The Guide to Assisting Students with Disabilities: Equal Access in Health Science and Professional Education. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN: 9780826123749
20. Meeks, L.M, Laird-Metke, E., Jain, N., Rollins, M., Gandhi, S., & Stechert, M. (2015). Accommodating Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in Operating Room Environments: A Case Study. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. (28) 3.