About Elizabeth McLain, PhD

Elizabeth McLain, PhD. is an Assistant Professor of Musicology and Director of Disability Studies at Virginia Tech. She publishes on music and spirituality in the 20th century, including on George Crumb for the Journal of Musicological Research and Olivier Messiaen for Messaien in Context (Cambridge Univ Press). However, McLain also draws on her lived experience as a chronically ill rollator-wielding autistic to transform music scholarship through the principles of disability justice. With the support of grants from ACLS and NEH, her a2ru’s Ground Works team documented the inaugural CripTech incubator with an emphasis on ethical consent processes and access. She co-authored "Unseen Sound: One Step Into the Blind Future (Academic Access Version)" with Andy Slater for Leonardo. Her current book project is Krip Time: the Rhythm of Disabled Music, Life, and Activism.

McLain co-directs the Disability Community Technology Center with Ashley Shew, which they founded with support from the Mellon Foundation. She leads the Open the Gates Gaming, a transdisciplinary research initiative to empower everyone to be a storyteller through the medium of gaming. She serves her local community as vice chair of the board of directors of the Disability Resource Center of the New River Valley and faculty advisor for the Disability Alliance at Virginia Tech.

McLain's outreach on disability culture is varied. She informed employers about what they can learn from the disability community for Guardian Life; shared her knowledge of disability culture with MDisability at Michigan Medicine; regularly discusses autism at Virginia Tech’s Carilion School of Medicine; and offers workshop on disability culture & inclusion, inclusive pedagogy & UDL in the performing arts, and inclusive gaming (tabletop games like D&D, video games, & remote gaming). She is available for consultations on the above as well as disability representation in media. McLain will speak at PAX East 2025 in Boston May 8-1

Recognition and Awards