Ableism – or discrimination against people with disabilities – has had detrimental impacts on immigration policies and immigrants, suicide rates among people with disabilities, and social acceptance and stigmatisation by society. Unfortunately, many have seen ableism have an accelerated impact during the coronavirus pandemic. In this interview, Encalada shares his views on how research can make a difference, how research has failed to help in the past, and the importance of involving people with disabilities in research programs as researchers.