Episode 4

Dr. Karen Perta, speech-language pathologist, and Dr. Adam Szymanowski, laryngologist, discuss their interesting career trajectories, laryngeal surgery, voice therapy, current and future advances in both laryngology and voice therapy, and benefits of an interprofessional team approach to patient-centered care.Karen Perta, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, EMT, has been a medical speech-language pathologist and singing voice specialist for over 10 years. She has performed over 6,000 laryngoscopy procedures (i.e., VLS and FEES) in private practice ENT and acute care hospital settings. She presents research, lectures, and workshops on various topics related to voice disorders, voice therapy, and vocal tract physiology at the local, national, and international levels. She is a current lecturer in speech and hearing science at the Ohio State University as well as a singer and multi-instrumentalist at Howl at the Moon Columbus. In fall 2022, she will join the faculty at Ohio University.Adam R. Szymanowski, MD, is a laryngologist and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. He completed his undergraduate studies at UNC Chapel Hill before joining Teach for America where he worked as a middle school science teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Afterwards he completed his medical degree at Drexel University College of Medicine and an Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery residency at SUNY Buffalo. Most recently, he completed a one-year laryngeal surgery fellowship with Dr. Steven M. Zeitels at the Massachusetts General Hospital.