Preeti Sivasankar: 'Can You Protect Your Voice? Physiological Investigations From Rats to Humans'

Preeti Sivasankar, professor and head of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and assistant vice president for strategic health research, Office of Research, discussed “Can You Protect Your Voice? Physiological Investigations From Rats to Humans” at the Westwood Lecture Series on Dec. 13, 2023.

Abstract. Voice disorders are common, affecting 1 in 13 Americans and imposing substantive economic and societal costs. In this talk, Sivasankar will present information on the mechanisms of voice production and discuss why voice disorders may develop. She will also share insights from mechanistic studies on the effects of common challenges to the vocal folds and discuss strategies that can help speakers maintain a healthy voice. The presentation will also touch on:

• What physiological investigations of the upper airway tell us about the causes of voice disorders.
• How to protect the voice to prevent disorders or to reduce the recurrence of voice disorders.
• How data from animal studies shed light on our understanding of the human voice.

Bio. Preeti Sivasankar is a professor and head of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and assistant vice president for strategic health research in the Office of Research at Purdue University. Sivasankar is also an adjunct faculty member at IU School of Medicine. Her programmatic research on voice disorders and the upper airway has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health. Sivasankar is an elected fellow of the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association and elected associate fellow of the American Laryngological Association. She is past editor of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Sivasankar has received the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Instructor and the College of Health and Human Sciences Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.