Department of Otolaryngology Has Strong Presence at Fall Voice Conference

Several faculty, residents and students at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology presented oral and poster sessions at the 2021 Fall Voice Conference in October in Miami, and three faculty members helped plan and direct the meeting.

From left, Adam Lloyd, David E. Rosow, Donna S. Lundy and Michelle Bretl.

“The Fall Voice Conference is among the largest conferences worldwide for scientific discussion of voice, airway and swallowing disorders with both physicians and speech pathologists,” said David E. Rosow, M.D., director of the Division of Laryngology and Voice, and associate professor of otolaryngology at the Miller School.

Dr. Rosow and Donna S. Lundy, Ph.D., BCS-S, F-ASHA, professor and chief of the Division of Speech Pathology at the Miller School, were course directors for the conference, along with Dr. Ashli O’Rourke of the Medical University of South Carolina and Dr. Greg Postma of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Adam Lloyd, SLP-D, CCC-SLP, clinical assistant professor in the Division of Speech Pathology at the Miller School, was the Early Career Speech Language Pathology program chair, overseeing a daylong program for speech pathologists with one to five years of practice.

The conference had an impressive in-person attendance of more than 300, while about 600 clinicians listened in virtually.

First Hybrid Meeting Since Pandemic Onset

“For most of us, this was our first hybrid meeting since the onset of the pandemic, and it was wonderful to be able to see people in person and, thanks to advances in technology, have others actively participate from a distance. Fall Voice was a true success in every sense of the word!” Dr. Lundy said.

Dr. Rosow took part in a physician panel on the use of artificial intelligence in otolaryngology, during which the experts discussed using deep learning and neural network computation to solve various problems in the diagnosis and treatment of voice problems. He also moderated a session on voice and airway and swallowing issues resulting from COVID-19.

The meeting included number of hands-on courses, including one co-directed by Dr. Rosow at the CANES Lab, a state-of-the-art simulation lab co-led by the Departments of Otolaryngology and Neurological Surgery at the Miller School. “We had 12 faculty from various institutions around the country come get hands-on experience with a new 445-nm blue diode laser that we are using for laryngeal surgery,” Dr. Rosow said. “UHealth was the third facility in the U.S. to use the laser for this type of surgery.”

Dr. Lundy moderated the research session “Artificial Intelligence in Laryngology,” and presented the poster “Impact of trismus on swallowing outcomes after chemoradiation for oropharyngeal cancer.”

Miller School Otolaryngology Fellow Madeleine Strohl, M.D., presented the session “Aesthesiometer-Based Testing for Laryngopharyngeal Sensation.”

Posters were also presented by Dr. Lloyd; Mursalin M. Anis, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology in the Division of Laryngology; Mario Alberto Landera, SLP, assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology; as well as Department of Otolaryngology speech pathologists Amanda Demane, M.S., CCC-SLP, and Michelle Bretl, M.S, M.M., CCC-SLP.

Tags: Dept. of Otolaryngology, Dr. Adam Lloyd, Dr. David E. Rosow, Dr. Donna S. Lundy, Fall Voice Conference, Miller School of Medicine