The Voice Foundation

The Voice Foundation presents
The Spasmodic Dysphonia Research Award

The Spasmodic Dysphonia Research Award shall be awarded by the Dysphonia International and The Voice Foundation. The Award Committee shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Board of The Voice Foundation.

The mission of the Dysphonia International is to advance medical research into the causes of and treatments for spasmodic dysphonia, promote physician and public awareness of the disorder, and provide support to those affected by spasmodic dysphonia.

Spasmodic dysphonia (SD), a focal form of dystonia, is a neurological voice disorder that involves “spasms” of the vocal cords causing interruptions of speech and affecting the voice quality. SD can cause the voice to break up or to have a tight, strained, or strangled quality.

Eligibility Requirements

• Award consideration is open to investigators who are accepted to present research in the yearly Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice.
• This award is for outstanding contribution to new research related to spasmodic dysphonia and related voice conditions including muscle tension dysphonia and vocal tremor.

Application

This award is open to investigators who are accepted to present in the yearly Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice

To Enter: Please send the following in one pdf  to E-mail: office@voicefoundation.org

• Letter of intent – a short paragraph about your training and mentioning your research
• A copy of your accepted abstract
• The application deadline is March 30, 2023.

Criteria and Selection

The winner will be selected by a committee and will be notified by The Voice Foundation on or before April 15th.

Selection will be based on a number of criteria including, but not limited to the quality of the study or studies, the impact of investigation on the field of voice, and the complexity of the work. The award will be given to an investigator who is the PRESENTING Author (and preference will be given if it is also the First Author). The committee members will use their own criteria to determine “excellence”.

Award Amount

The winner will receive:

• An Award Certificate
• $1,000 to support travel costs to The Voice Foundation Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice
• Recognition in Voice Foundation and the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association’s materials

Presentation

The fellowship will be awarded at the next Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, scheduled for May 31 – June 4, 2023 in Philadelphia, PA. The award presentation will take place on Saturday, June 3rd, 2023.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact The Voice Foundation. E-mail: office@voicefoundation.org

Founded in 1989, the Dysphonia International is a not-for profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to advancing medical research into the causes of and treatments for SD, promoting physician and public awareness of the disorder, and providing support to those affected by SD through symposiums, support groups, and on-line resources.

Kimberly Kuman, Executive Director,
National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association

Award Winners

2022

Katherine L. Marks, PhD
Spectral Aggregate of the Fundamental Frequency and its Relationship to the
Primary Acoustic Features of Adductor Laryngeal Dystonia
Katherine L. Marks, PhD, Taylor F. Feaster, BA, Sarah Baker, CCC-SLP,
Manuel Díaz Cádiz, Philip C. Doyle, PhD, Cara E. Stepp, PhD  

2020 Virtual Voice

Arash Mahnan, PhD Candidate – University of Minnesota
Vibro Tactile Simulation as a Feasible SymptomaticTreatment for the Voice Disorder Spasmodic Dysphonia.
Authors: Arash Mahnan MS, Sanaz Khosravani PhD, Peter J. Watson PhD, Yang Zhang PhD, George Goding MD, Juergen Konczak PhD

2019

Anke Ziethe, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
Analysis and Training of Feedback Mechanisms for Phonation and Speech in patients with Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD)
Anke Ziethe, Ulrich Hoppe, Christopher Bohr, Michael Döllinger,