Spectrum News: Researcher with disabilities shares journey

UC postdoctorate fellow discusses the desire to encourage others like her in STEM fields

​​A day in the life of Christina Wicker, PhD, a postdoctorate fellow and researcher at the University of Cincinnati, is no walk in the park, mostly due to her disabilities and chronic pain.

But she's not letting that stop her from doing something she loves.

Wicker spends hours a day in a lab setting, conducting important cancer research that could help patients one day, but that isn’t easy for her.

“When I come home on days where I’ve done a lot, I’m on the couch. I can barely move," she said.

She has Klippel-Feil syndrome, as well as several other physical disabilities that cause her chronic pain.

She hopes her journey will inspire someone to continue to work towards their goals, no matter their physical abilities.

“If I can make things better for somebody coming behind me, a more junior scientist, it’ll be worth it,” she says.

Read the full Spectrum News story.

Read more about Wicker's research in this UC News story.

Featured photo of Christina Wicker in her lab by Colleen Kelley.

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