Adrianna Shembel, PhD CCC-SLP (she/her)

Adrianna is the PI of the UT Larynx Lab—with joint appointments at The University of Texas at Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her research focuses on the role of the larynx in sensorimotor voice disorders, how increased vocal demands affect the larynx, and relationships between the larynx and articulatory, respiratory, and neural subsystems in vocal function and dysfunction. She did her postdoctoral training at the NYU School of Medicine studying the effects of vocal exercise on aging laryngeal muscle. She received her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh where she studied the effects of increased respiratory drive on laryngeal physiology in aerobic athletes. She earned her MA in Communication Sciences & Disorders from the University of Pittsburgh and BS in Communication Science & Disorders, with minors in theater, dance, and music with a voice emphasis from the Pennsylvania State University. She is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with a specialty diagnosing and treating patients with voice and laryngeal disorders. Adrianna is an avid runner and yogi. When she’s not being Sporty Spice, you can find her belting tunes at karaoke.

Robert Morrison, PhD

Robert is a Research Scientist at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he is developing new bioelectronic therapies for neurological injuries affecting the larynx, and investigating how pathological neural activity contributes to laryngeal sensorimotor dysfunction. He holds a PhD in neuroscience and cognition, and has a background in neuromodulatory therapies for upper limb dysfunction after neuropathy, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. His research interests include neural dynamics of motor learning and recovery, motor planning and execution, and neuroprosthetics. Outside of the lab, Robert is an avid DIYer and tinkerer who loves to build and repair computers and other electronics.

Sarah McDowell, MS, CCC-SLP

Sarah is a PhD student in the Larynx Lab. She previously graduated with her Master’s in Science in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2023 and completed her Clinical Fellowship at the Utah Voice Center and the Summer Vocology Institute through the National Center for Voice and Speech. Sarah holds a BM in vocal performance from the University of North Texas and a BS in communication disorders from Utah State University. Sarah’s research focuses on vocal effort and fatigue in patients with muscle tension dysphonia and the relationship of these symptoms to paralaryngeal-respiratory kinematics. Outside of her studies, Sarah is a 200-hour Yoga Alliance registered yoga instructor and has been teaching yoga since 2015.

Julianna Smeltzer, MS, CCC-SLP

Julianna is a PhD student in the Larynx Lab. She previously graduated with her Master’s in Science in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2023 and completed her Clinical Fellowship at the University of Colorado Voice Center. Julianna received her BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in music at Baylor University. Julianna is interested in the role of interoception in voice disorders. Outside the SLP world, Julianna is a talented singer and song writer.

Denise Kim, BS

Denise is a speech-language pathology graduate student at The University of Texas at Dallas. She completed her BS in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, and joined the UT Larynx Lab in the Summer of 2024. She is interested in laryngeal impact due to increased vocal efforts, and hopes to become a voice therapist. In her free time, she enjoys coloring, painting, and sculpting with clay.

Avery Moore, BA

Avery is a speech-language pathology graduate student at The University of Texas at Dallas. She graduated from The University of Oklahoma with a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Pre-Health Social Sciences. Avery joined the UT Larynx Lab in the Fall of 2023 and is participating in research focusing on paralaryngeal-respiratory motion capture and sensory testing in patients with functional voice disorders. In her free time, you can find her baking, reading, or at a concert.

Avighna Kamma

Avighna is an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas. He hopes to attend medical school and eventually become a physician specializing in either cardiology or orthopedics. Outside of the lab, Avighna likes to play various types of sports, try new restaurants, and explore new places with friends and family. 

Abraar Khan

Abraar is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Studies at UT Dallas. He hopes to attend Medical School and become a Physician. Outside of school, Abraar likes to play video games and watch movies, and more importantly, spend time with family.

Samiya Akram

Samiya is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology at UT Dallas. Her hope is to attend medical school and specialize in surgery. Her future aspirations include researching more about Endometriosis and successfully conducting heart transplants around the world. Outside the lab, Samiya enjoys reading historical fiction novels and hiking mountain trails with family.

Maxwell Ugochukwu

Maxwell is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. Maxwell joined the UT larynx lab in the Fall of 2023. His future aspirations are to attend medical school and specialize in surgery. His hobbies include playing instruments, learning new languages, playing basketball and soccer.  If he is not working, you will find him arguing with his friends about the best soccer team in the world.

Kaylah Coreno

Kaylah is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience and a minor in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at UT Dallas. She hopes to attend graduate school and become a speech language pathologist. Outside of school, Kaylah loves to spend time with her two cats, read philosophy, and master the art of preparing a matcha latte.

Akshaya Chandrashekhar

Akshaya is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology at UT Dallas. Her goal is to improve healthcare equity by making clinical knowledge and treatments more accessible. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting and visiting new places with her friends and family.

Soumya Ajjampudi

Soumya is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience at UT Dallas. She hopes to attend medical school and become a physician. Her goal is to improve access to healthcare for the underserved, with a focus on emergency care. Outside the lab, she loves watching old movies, drawing, and spending time outdoors with her friends and family.

Kathryn Kreidler, Doctoral Candidate  

Kate is a PhD candidate who studies rhythmic production skills in children with developmental language disorders. Kate’s long-term aim is to find more efficacious ways of diagnosing and treating language disorders using rhythmic and language tasks. Kate’s non-lab related interests include weightlifting, making/eating bread, and reading poems to her cats.

Ted Mau, MD PhD

Ted Mau is Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the Voice Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Mau has a Ph.D. in biophysics from UCSF and an M.D. from the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mau did a residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at UCSF then completed a fellowship in laryngology and care of the professional voice at Vanderbilt. He joined the faculty at UT Southwestern in 2008. Dr. Mau’s clinical practice is dedicated to disorders of voice, swallowing, and airway. He is also engaged in clinical and computational research in the physiology and biomechanics of voice production, vocal fold paralysis, and phonotraumatic vocal fold lesions.

Laura Toles, PhD CCC-SLP

Laura Toles is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the UT Southwestern Medical Center where she works as a clinician scientist. Her research focuses on the role that psychological, behavioral, and physiological factors have in the development and rehabilitation of hyperfunctional voice disorders. She holds a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences and has been a practicing speech-language pathologist with a specialty in treating voice disorders for over 12 years. Laura is also a trained singer and has sung with the Fort Worth Opera, the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and in an indie rock band. Outside of her professional life, Laura is a mother of two young boys and loves to create stained glass art pieces in her free time.

Xiaohu Guo, Professor

Dr. Guo is a Full Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science from the Stony Brook University, and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Science and Technology of Chica. His research interests include computer graphics, computer vision, medical imaging, and VR/AR, with an emphasis on geometric modeling and processing. His current research at UTD focuses on human body and face modeling, medial axis transform, medical image analysis, and mesh generation.

Phil, Technician

Phil arrived at the Larynx Lab in Fall 2023 from KayPentax to assist students learning and honing their laryngoscopy skills. Phil was previously a child actor who played BabyFace in Pixar’s thriller movie Toy Story (aka Spider Baby, Babyhead). When not helping students, Phil enjoys dressing up in different costumes for the holidays, acting silly, taking selfies, and scaring Dr. Shembel’s colleagues.

Arlin Ayesha Khan, BS

Arlin graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts in History. She is currently in medical school at Texas Tech. During her time at UTD, Arlin was part of UTD’s ENSURE program. She is passionate about bringing science to the community.  Outside of academics, she loves public speaking through UTD’s Speech Team, reading mysteries, and exploring new coffee shops.

Aakash Patel

Aakash is an undergraduate student at UT Dallas studying Healthcare Studies. He hopes to later attend medical school and become a physician interested in various specialties including ENT, Ophthalmology as well as Pediatrics. Outside of school, he likes to be very active including playing football, golf, and even working out regularly. Additionally, he likes to try new foods and loves watching action movies!

Asma Nasir

Asma graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Healthcare Studies at UT Dallas in 2024. She is currently in her gap year and aims to attend medical school in the near future. She is passionate about improving our US healthcare system and hopes to make a lasting impact within the community. In her free time, she enjoys photography, baking, journaling, and hanging out with her cats.

Gauri Surendran

Gauri graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience in 2024. She hopes to attend medical school in the future and is interested in various surgical specialties. Outside of school, Gauri enjoys reading a good book, going to local coffee shops, spending time with friends and family, and binging Criminal Minds. 

Jordan James, BMA

Jordan is a speech-language pathology graduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas. She graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a Bachelor in Musical Arts in May of 2023, and joined the UT Larynx Lab in the Fall of 2023-2024. Throughout her studies as a music student, she developed a love for all things voice, and hopes to pursue a career in vocal therapy. Outside of the lab, she enjoys hiking, crafting, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Harsha Haridas

Harsha graduated with her Bachelors in Psychology in 2024. She joined the UT Larynx Lab in Fall 2022. She is currently continuing her studies at UTD as a Masters’ student in Human Development Childhood Disorders and is volunteering with DARCC while applying to doctoral programs. She hopes to become a child psychiatrist. Outside of the lab, she enjoys embroidering, reading, and is always looking for new TV shows to watch.

Caroline Crocker, MA, CF

Caroline graduated from the speech-language pathology program at the University of Texas at Dallas in Spring 2024. Her research focused on laryngeal configuration patterns and vocal effort. She is currently completing her Clinical Fellowship Year at the Wake Forrest Voice Center. Caroline graduated from Baylor University with a BA in communication sciences and disorders. Outside of the lab, Caroline enjoys the many outdoor trails in the DFW area as well as studying classical and modern music.

Y-Nhy Duong, MS

Y-Nhy graduated with her Masters in cognition and neuroscience, studying applications of neurotechnology towards functional motor recovery in the limb and larynx. After completing her undergraduate studies in Neurobiology at UC Berkeley, she worked in the San Francisco Bay Area health-tech industry and recognized the impact of innovative technology in bridging the gap between treatment and health disparities. Outside of science, Y-Nhy is a Buddhist scholar and enjoys studying moral philosophy among ancient and modern, Eastern and Western cultures.

Shirley Marino Lee, BS

Shirley is a medical student at UT Southwestern. She graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. She is an active member of the Larynx Lab and is participating in research investigating vocal tremor and vocal strain. Outside of the lab, she enjoys trying new restaurants and exploring coffee shops

Ananya Bommakanti

Ananya is an undergraduate student at The University of Texas at Dallas. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She joined the UT Larynx Lab in Spring 2022-2023 and participated in research on neural activity and its contributions to laryngeal activities and dysfunctions. Her future aspirations include attending graduate school for her Master’s and eventually medical school. Her hobbies include singing, dancing, and if she isn’t working you can find her curled up with a good book.

Crystal Bell, BA

Crystal is a speech-language pathology student at Case Western Reserve University. She graduated from Hampton University with a BA in Communicative Science and Disorders. Outside of the lab, Crystal enjoys traveling and trying new restaurants.

Maedeh Vahid, MA

Maedeh is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her research interests include investigating the affected subsystems in different voice disorders and laryngeal pathology. She enjoys singing and attempting to improve her knowledge of vocology. She also loves skating on her old loyal red skates, the reminders of her good days of commitment to hard work and perseverance.