Dr Claire Azzopardi Lane is a Senior Lecturer and Resident Academic within the Department of Gender and Sexualities at the University of Malta. Her academic career spans over two decades and is rooted in an interdisciplinary engagement with disability studies, sexuality, gender, and social justice. She holds a PhD from the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent and an MSc from the University of Manchester.
Dr Azzopardi Lane has held several leadership roles within the University, serving as Deputy Dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing (2020–2024), and as Head of both the Department of Disability Studies and the Department of Gender and Sexualities. In these roles, she contributed to strategic planning, research development, curriculum innovation, and interdepartmental collaboration, while also representing the University in national and international fora.
Her research focuses on the intersections of disability, sexuality, reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ identities, and parenting. She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals and contributed multiple book chapters exploring sexuality, intimate relationships, and the lived experiences of disabled persons. She has led and collaborated on significant national and European research projects, including studies for the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the National Sexual Health Survey, and multiple disability rights initiatives.
Dr Azzopardi Lane has presented her research across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, addressing themes such as disabled motherhood, intersectionality, reproductive governance, and sexual rights. She has also played a formative role in public engagement, organising the LGBTIQ+ Research Symposium series and leading LGBTIQ+ visibility campaigns at the University of Malta.
Her longstanding contribution to disability rights and advocacy has been recognised through national awards, including the Premju Soċjetà Ġusta (2022) for lifetime achievement. Alongside her academic work, she regularly writes for national media on issues of gender, disability, and sexual health.
Dr Azzopardi Lane continues to advance inclusive scholarship and policy, integrating research, teaching, and activism to challenge structural inequalities and re-shape public narratives on gender and disability.
Dr Claire Azzopardi Lane is a Senior Lecturer in Gender and Sexualities at the University of Malta whose current research portfolio focuses on disability, gender, sexuality, and social justice. Her ongoing research includes a study on abuse and violence experienced by disabled women in Malta, a collaboration within the CUPID COST Action developing a book chapter on cancer, policy, and advocacy, and a forthcoming peer-reviewed article examining the experiences of disabled mothers in Malta.
Dr Azzopardi Lane is actively involved in multiple European and international projects. She is a member of COST Action CA21123 (CUPID) on cancer prevention in intellectual disabilities, COST Action CA18124 (ESMN), the INSIGHTS Intelligence and Security Research Cluster, and EU-level collaborations on violence against autistic people. Her national project leadership includes studies on sexual and reproductive health, disability policy, intersectionality, and the rights of persons in institutions.
Her ongoing collaborations span academia, government agencies, and European networks, including long-standing partnerships with disability rights advocates, interdisciplinary researchers, and policy bodies such as the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.
Her accolades include the Premju Soċjetà Ġusta (2022) and the Social Award for Lifetime Achievement in Disability. She was also Malta’s national candidate for election to the UN CRPD Committee (2020).
Dr Azzopardi Lane’s professional affiliations and scholarly service extend to extensive peer-reviewing roles across international journals in disability studies, gender, sexuality, and health. Her work continues to shape research, advocacy, and policy related to disability, gender, and sexual rights in Malta and beyond.
