Laura Foran Lewis, PhD

Dr. Laura Lewis is a registered nurse with clinical experience in oncology, hematology, and end of life care. After completing her postdoctoral training at the University of Vermont, she joined the Department of Nursing as faculty in 2016. Her areas of teaching include chronic and palliative care, professional issues in nursing, and research.

Dr. Lewis’ primary research focus is on autistic adults and issues impacting quality of life, social relationships, and identity formation. She is particularly interested in the experiences of those who discover an autism identity in adulthood as well as the intersection of queer and autistic identity for those who identify as LGBTQIA+. Dr. Lewis is an expert in qualitative research methods with experience in phenomenology, narrative analysis, grounded theory, meta-ethnography, and more.

Dr. Lewis also enjoys training undergraduate students to conduct research and is committed to working with students throughout the research process from study design through dissemination. She has co-authored several publications and co-presented in national and international conferences with undergraduate students.

Institution: University of Vermont

Project Title: Unfolding Clinical Narratives: Understanding the Health Stories of Autistic People with Multiple Diagnoses

Project Overview: This mixed methods study aims to explore the health narratives of autistic people with multiple clinical diagnoses. It will involve interviews with 30-50 autistic individuals, supplemented by a checklist of clinical characteristics and diagnoses. The study will use narrative analysis and exploratory quantitative analysis to understand how autistic individuals perceive their health in the context of multiple diagnoses.