"Characterizing and Classifying Vocal Tremor (VT) Physiology… and Other Shaky Topics"

Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer, PhD, CCC-SLP
Professor, Dept of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Director, Voice, Airway, & Swallowing Translational (VAST) Research Lab
Clinic Director, Voice Disorders Center
Adjunct Faculty, Communication Sciences & Disorders

Tremor is the most common movement disorder in the world with ~40% exhibiting vocal tremor (VT). Severe VT is often misclassified as laryngeal dystonia. Improved characterization of VT clinical features would improve clinical classification, treatment planning and inform affected neural pathways. This presentation summarizes recommended clinical approaches for clinically classifying tremor affecting the speech structures based on funded research findings.

Julie Barkmeier-Kraemer is a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, Director of the VAST Research Lab, Clinic Director for the Voice Disorders Center, and Adjunct Faculty to the Dept of CSD at the University of Utah. She has ~30 years of clinical and translational research experience in voice, swallowing, and airway disorders.

The Matthews-Rubin Lecture was established to honor Dr. Jack Matthews, who founded the Graduate Program in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and chaired the Department of Speech from 1955-1987, and Dr. Herb Rubin, who retired in 1991 after 32 years at the University and chaired the Department of Communication and served as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. The Matthews-Rubin Endowment supports the annual lecture and awards an honorarium to a distinguished scientist with a national/international reputation in the field of communication science and disorders.