Dr Sonali Shah is Associate Professor in Disability and Life Course Research in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham. She leads 2 NIHR RfPB projects – 1) Living Healthy Lives: Exploring the effects of growing older with cerebral palsy and use of healthcare services across the life course; 2) RICH study to explore the accessibility of UK maternity healthcare for women with cerebral palsy. Sonali also develops knowledge exchange tools, using creative methods to share new research to non-academic audiences so it can be applied in policy and practice.
Sonali is an internationally recognised author with 17 articles and 4 books published in relation to disability and different topics including healthcare, domestic violence, education careers and use of theatre for disabled people across the life course. She co-ordinates the international Facebook group Women Ageing with Cerebral Palsy. She is on the editorial boards of BSA Medical Sociology, and Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research. She is co-editor of a special issue of The History of the Family (on disability, partnership and family formation). In 2022 Sonali won an Arts Council award to develop her first semi-biographical tri-lingual play which performed at Lakeside Theatre in Nottingham.
Sonali is a British Indian disabled woman. Her interests include writing songs, travelling and reading historical fiction.