Providing Patient Care and Compassion
Sabrina Durso: Sabrina Durso is a Ph.D. student in The Ohio State University’s English Department specializing
in Disability Studies and Medical Humanities. Specifically, in literature, Sabrina exposes the
falseness of stereotypes and poor representations of those with disabilities through
ethnography. As a graduate student, Sabrina has presented her work nationally and abroad.
Her service efforts center around accessibility, with special emphasis on providing
accommodations that go beyond The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Luke Van Niel: Luke Van Niel is a Ph.D. student in English at The Ohio State University, specializing in Digital Media
Studies and Disability Studies. Luke is interested in the accessibility of both everyday and advanced
technologies and is passionate about embedding access into technological design. His research
investigates the lived experiences of disabled people when interacting with technologies and how
barriers to accessing technology affect society broadly. He also enjoys visual design, multimodal
composition, and exploring emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Rachel Rubino: Rachel Rubino is an M.A./ Ph.D. student for the Department of English at The Ohio State
University. Her interdisciplinary scholarship explores interstices between Disability Studies,
Medical Humanities, and Digital Media/Multimodal Composing Pedagogies. As a graduate
student for the Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy program, Rachel is particularly interested in
surveying mental health discourse and accessibility initiatives within computer-mediated
communications. Prior to pursuing her graduate degree, she taught composition and research
skills to dyslexic students in Manhattan, New York.
Blue Lerner: Blue Lerner is a Ph.D. student in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University.
Blue takes a metacognitive perspective on understanding message processing, particularly in
the context of science and health information, and is primarily focused on understanding how
complex language affects decision-making. Her work seeks to improve understanding and
remove barriers for communication of science information to the public.