From lived experience to research impact: Meet Hopkins PhD researcher Hannah Simmonds

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week 2026

 

For Hannah Simmonds, research is more than an academic pursuit – it is an opportunity to turn lived experience into meaningful change for people living with spinal cord injury and disability.

A Research Assistant, Ambassador and PhD Candidate with The Hopkins Centre, Hannah has lived with a complete spinal cord injury for more than two decades. Her experiences navigating health services, transport, community spaces and everyday life have shaped her passion for research that addresses barriers to participation and promotes greater inclusion. 

 

Turning lived experience into research

Hannah's pathway into research has been shaped by both her academic background and her experiences as a person with disability. After completing an Honours degree in evolutionary ecology and working in local and state government, she began contributing to research as a consumer, including the Singing Cords project in 2019.

She has since become an active member of The Hopkins Centre research community, contributing to projects exploring disability inclusion, accessible transport, home modification and rehabilitation environments.

Her current PhD research focuses on social access and inclusion for people with disability in leisure and recreational built environments within a major Australian city. The research explores the barriers and enablers that influence participation and considers how accessibility can be improved through better environments, policies and practices.

 

The value of lived experience

Hannah's lived experience provides an important perspective to her research, helping highlight the practical barriers that people with disability encounter in everyday life, including challenges that may not always be captured through traditional research.

Her work reflects a key principle of The Hopkins Centre: research should not simply be about people with disability but should be informed by and undertaken with people with lived experience.

 

Alongside her PhD, Hannah has contributed to research examining the inclusivity of public transport, the use of technology in home modification for people with spinal cord injury, and the importance of personalised environments in neurorehabilitation.

Across these projects, a common theme is creating environments and systems that enable people with disability to participate, make choices and live the lives they want.

 

Research driving change

Hannah's journey demonstrates the valuable contribution people with lived experience can make to research as researchers, advocates and partners in creating change.

This Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week, The Hopkins Centre celebrates Hannah and the many people with lived experience who are helping to shape research, challenge assumptions and build more accessible and inclusive communities.

 

Read more about Hannah and her research: Hannah Simmonds – The Hopkins Centre

Explore Hannah's PhD research: PhD Scholarship Success – Welcoming Hannah Gawne as PhD Candidate