Voice Biomechanics & Acoustics Laboratory

09/28/2026

Happy Teachers’ Day!
One of our PhD students, Chia-Hsin, reminded us that today is Teachers’ Day in Taiwan, celebrated on the birthday of Confucius. She also made this wonderful card for her mentors.
It seemed like a good opportunity for us to turn the message around and say thank you to teachers.
Much of the work in our lab focuses on understanding the demands placed on teachers—particularly the tremendous amount of speaking they do every day. We are grateful to the many teachers who have shared their time and experiences with us and helped us better understand teacher voice, communication, and vocal health.
We are always looking for teachers who would like to help with this research. Right now, there are two ways to get involved:
Teachers within driving distance of Iowa City: [https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6YgcLyDz6Qr3f5c]
Opportunities to participate in our in-person teacher voice research.
Teachers anywhere in the U.S.: [https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dhj1ytKbSznWBMO]
Opportunities to participate completely online.
Filling out either form simply lets us know that you may be interested in hearing about research opportunities—it doesn’t commit you to participating in a study.
And whether or not you ever participate in our research: thank you for teaching, for using your voice every day, and for helping your students grow.
Happy Teachers’ Day!

10/31/2025

AI meets voice science!

We’re proud to see our own Mark Berardi quoted in this article highlighting the University of Iowa’s new AI Certificate launching in Fall 2026. Mark brings deep expertise at the intersection of machine learning and vocal health, helping push the boundaries of what AI can do in clinical voice science.

From precision voice assessments to smarter speech technology, this is exactly the kind of innovation we’re passionate about at the Voice Biomechanics & Acoustics Lab.

Read the article: https://dailyiowan.com/2025/10/13/new-ai-certificate-program-to-be-introduced-in-fall-2026/

Send a message to learn more

07/03/2025

New Publication Alert!

Our team across four institutions is thrilled to share our latest paper in the Journal of Voice, led by Adrián Salvador Castillo.

We explored how speech-language pathologists navigate bedside voice assessments, especially when faced with tough clinical situations. The study highlights creative strategies clinicians use and the barriers they overcome to provide quality care.

👏 Big congratulations to Adrián and all collaborators!

🔗 Read more:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892199725002280

Note: Image generated using ChatGPT (DALL·E)

05/26/2025

🎤 The University of Iowa is making a powerful showing at the 54th Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice! Our researchers and students will be presenting 24 talks and posters (out of 249!)—spanning basic science, clinical applications, and innovation in voice assessment and care. From vocal fatigue to machine learning, and teacher voices to imaging breakthroughs, we’re proud to be pushing the field forward.

FYI-- the image was made by Copilot from our abstract text.


Voice Biomechanics & Acoustics Laboratory

01/14/2025

The Voice Biomechanics and Acoustics Laboratory (VBAL) is proud to dedicate this post to someone truly special: Dr. Lady Catherine Cantor-Cutiva. 🗣️✨

Lady has been an integral part of our lab for many years. After completing her PhD in Public Health in the Netherlands, she joined us as a postdoc at Michigan State University (2016-2018) and then as a research scientist, supporting us also during our transition to the University of Iowa. Her professionalism, humor, and joy enriched our lab and work until December last year. 💛🖤

Now, we are thrilled to celebrate her next chapter as she begins her faculty position at East Tennessee State University! 🎉🙌

Lady, thank you for your incredible contributions to VBAL and to voice science. We wish you all the success in this exciting new role, and we look forward to continuing our collaborations as partners. 🌟

11/18/2024

A Huge Thank You to Everyone Who Made the Midwest Voice Symposium a Success! 🙏✨

We are incredibly grateful to all the amazing speakers, participants, and supporters who joined us at the inaugural 2024 Midwest Voice Symposium! 🗣️🎶 Your enthusiasm, insights, and contributions truly made this event special.

From the inspiring keynotes to the engaging discussions, it was a day filled with learning and community. This is just the beginning of a new chapter in our journey—exploring the science and art of voice, together! 💛🖤

Thank you all for being a part of this amazing experience!