Health and Risk Communication Center Fellowship award to aid student in improving communication and quality of life.
The Health and Risk Communication Center (HRCC) is in the second year of its new Fellowship award, the Sandi Smith Research Fellowship. This year, graduate student, Corinne Brown, will use the Fellowship to fund a research project focused on adductor spasmodic dysphonia (AdSD), which is a neurological disorder that disrupts laryngeal muscle control during speech and therefore, affects voice production.
Brown will use the Sandi Smith Research Fellowship award to study the onset and offset of phonation during connected speech in adults with AdSD by using videoendoscopy (HSV). The goal of the research is toward development of better voice assessment and treatment strategies in patients with AdSD.
The Sandi Smith Research Fellowship was founded in 2017 to celebrate Dr. Smith’s dedication to health and risk communication scholarship in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. A prolific scholar and ICA Fellow, Dr. Smith’s passion for communication research, teaching, and health communication have been an inspiration for students and faculty.