Rita Patel: Cognitive Science Program: Indiana University Bloomington
Education
- B.Sc. 1995 University of Mumbai, India
- M.Sc. 1997 University of Mumbai, India
- Ph.D. 2006 University of Wisconsin Madison
Research interests
- My broad areas of research interests include vocal physiology and voice production in normal and disordered voice across the lifespan. More specifically, I am interested in pediatric vocal development and identification of physiological factors of laryngeal function that underlie severely disturbed voice qualities. Within the framework of pediatric vocal development I aim to lay the foundation for development of biomechanical modeling and assessment tools to identify children at risk of developing voice disorders by establishing physiological biomarkers of the unique vibratory features observed with high speed digital imaging. The other research area that interests me relates to the pathophysiology of hoarseness resulting from severe voice disturbances, spasmodic dysphonia, for example. Here the goal is to investigate vibratory kinematics and disturbances of muscle activity, to understand the clinical pathophysiology of spasmodic dysphonia. The outcome from the above research areas, directly relates to clinical assessment for children with voice disorders and adults with spasmodic dysphonia. Current funding for this research is supported by the National Institute of Health (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders), American Speech-Language and Hearing Foundation, and the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association.