Directed by Dr. Emily Kimball, the Voice Biology Lab focuses on the biological and physiological basis for vocal fold health and pathology. We are particularly interested in understanding the specific cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the vocal folds maintain their ability to vibrate freely. Along with this goal, we also seek to understand the circumstances that ultimately lead to the development of vocal fold lesions like nodules and polyps, which cause disordered voice production.
Our work is divided across three main ideas:
- What keeps the vocal fold healthy in people who don't have voice disorders but use their voice a lot?
- What goes wrong in the tissue that causes different lesions to develop, and is this dependent on the person's voice use?
- How can we better align clinicians in their characterization of lesions so that we can communicate better about our patients and draw more specific insight from their treatment outcomes?
It is our hope that the work done in this laboratory can have a positive impact on the clinical care for patients with voice disorders.