A little bit more lABLEd Words Matter: How Language Can Shape Our Understanding of Disability in conversation with Chloe Orkin

About the Episode
In this episode of the labled podcast, hosts Alice and Lucy discuss their conversation with Chloe Orkin, a medical doctor and professor of infection and inequities at Queen Mary University of London. Chloe shares her experiences with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and the challenges she faced in the workplace, including the lack of adequate support and accommodations. She emphasizes the importance of language in understanding and combating ableism, referencing the concept of testimonial injustice. The conversation also touches on the intersectionality of ableism with other forms of discrimination, such as sexism and ageism, and the need for systemic change to address these issues.

About our Guest
Chloe Orkin is a British physician and Professor of HIV/AIDS medicine at Queen Mary University of London. She works as a consultant at the Royal London Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust. She is an internationally renowned expert in HIV therapeutics and led the first phase III clinical trial of injectable anti-retrovirals.

She is immediate past chair of the British HIV Association, where she championed the Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U) campaign within the United Kingdom. She is president elect of the Medical Women’s Federation.