The goal of this K25 Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award is to enable the candidate to develop expertise in the areas of acoustics and aeroacoustics of speech, in the context of a research plan that investigates sound source mechanisms that affect speech disorders due to velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). The professional development plan involves a structured curriculum of coursework, workshops, seminars, and individual study under the supervision of a mentorship and advisory team. The mentorship committee includes multidisciplinary team of established researchers with expertise in acoustic modeling of speech and speech disorders, aerodynamics of speech, aeroacoustics, medical imaging techniques, and clinical management of VPI. The research plan involves specific aims that have been designed to address the gap in knowledge for the lack of correlation between the size of the velopharyngeal opening with VPI and the severity of speech distortion. The research will be guided by two hypotheses: 1) sound characteristics due to airflow will decrease as the size of the velopharyngeal opening is increased; 2) sound characteristics due to resonance will increase as the size of the velopharyngeal opening is increased. The training and research experience provided by this award will enable the candidate to successfully bear as an independent researcher in the clinical areas of VPI and craniofacial anomalies.
There is currently no consensus on the factors that contribute to speech disorders due to Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI). One main reason for this is the lack of correlation between the opening size of the velopharyngeal port and the severity of speech disorder. This proposal will elucidate these factors using innovative methodology.
