Toles Lab
About Our Lab
The Voice Behavior and Rehabilitation Laboratory focuses on investigating behavioral, physiological, and psychological factors related to the etiology, pathophysiology, and rehabilitation of voice disorders. We are specifically interested in investigating disorders related to vocal hyperfunction.
Meet the PI
Laura Toles, Ph.D. CCC-SLP
Laura Toles is the PI of the Voice Behavior and Rehabilitation Lab and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the UT Southwestern Medical Center where she works as a clinician scientist. Her research focuses on the role that psychological, behavioral, and physiological factors have in the development and rehabilitation of hyperfunctional voice disorders. Dr. Toles holds a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and conducted research at the MGH Voice Center. She graduated with her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of North Texas and completed her clinical fellowship at the UT Southwestern Clinical Center for Voice Care. She has been a practicing speech-language pathologist with a specialty in treating voice disorders for 15 years. She is also a trained singer and has sung with the Fort Worth Opera, the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and in an indie rock band. Outside of her professional life, she is a mother of two young boys and loves to create stained glass art pieces in her free time.
Lab members and friends, from left: Melanie Turner, Julianna Smeltzer, Avery Moore, Laura Toles, Ph.D., and Amy Harris. 
Laura Toles, Ph.D., (right) with Melanie Turner. Meet the Lab Members
Melanie Turner, MS, CCC-SLP
Melanie Turner is a voice and swallowing-specialized speech pathologist at the UTSW Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery and a Ph.D. student in the Voice Behavior and Rehabilitation Lab. She received her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Arizona, where she completed her master’s thesis on the impact of age-related hearing loss on perception of age-related dysphonia. Melanie completed her clinical fellowship at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, where she directed a retrospective study on the presence of esophageal abnormalities in the Modified Barium Swallow Clinic. Melanie is passionate about clinical research in the areas of voice and swallowing and is delighted to be a part of the Voice Behavior and Rehabilitation Lab. Outside of the lab and clinic, Melanie currently sings with the Dallas Symphony Chorus.
Julianna Smeltzer, MS, CCC-SLP
Julianna Smeltzer is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Dallas and is a member of both the Voice Behavior and Rehabilitation Lab at UT Southwestern Voice Center and of the Larynx Lab at UT Dallas. She earned her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at UTD in 2023 and completed her Clinical Fellowship specializing in voice, upper airway, and swallowing disorders at the University of Colorado in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. She holds a BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in music from Baylor University. Her research interests include mind-voice connections, sensory mechanisms in voice disorders, and the singing voice. Coming from a background in water sports and music, Julianna enjoys swimming, surfing, and producing music. Most recently, she can be found playing pickleball in her free time!
Denise Kim
Denise Kim is a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology master’s program at The University of Texas at Dallas. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin, where she developed a passion for voice. Denise is pursuing a career in vocal therapy and is currently involved in research on phonotrauma, paralaryngeal-respiratory motion capture, and sensory mechanisms in functional voice disorders. In her free time, she enjoys sculpting with clay, baking, and playing pickleball.
Renae George
Renae George is a speech-language pathology graduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she earned her B.S. in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. She aims to become a voice therapist, promoting long-term vocal health among professional voice users. Her research interests include the sociocultural and behavioral factors underlying phonotrauma, with an emphasis on early identification and adherence to voice therapy. In her free time, she enjoys baking, traveling, and performing with the university’s jazz ensemble.
Matthew Bao
Matthew Bao is a medical student at Burnet School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. He graduated from Duke University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in vocal performance. Following graduation, he spent three years working at Duke as a laboratory technician in the Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory. As a singer, he has a strong interest in the intersection between music and medicine, which has led to his interest in otolaryngology. His current research focus is on surgical and behavioral outcomes following treatment for phonotraumatic vocal fold lesions. In his free time, he enjoys composing music for his friends.
Collaborators
Ted Mau, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Ted Mau is Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and chief of the Division of Laryngology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to transitioning to Stanford in 2025, Dr. Mau had a 17-year tenure at UT Southwestern Medical Center where he was director of the Voice Center and vice chair of research for the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Mau has a Ph.D. in biophysics from UCSF and an M.D. from the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mau did a residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at UCSF then completed a fellowship in laryngology and care of the professional voice at Vanderbilt. He joined the faculty at UT Southwestern in 2008. Dr. Mau’s clinical practice is dedicated to disorders of voice, swallowing, and airway. He is also engaged in clinical and computational research in the physiology and biomechanics of voice production, vocal fold paralysis, and phonotraumatic vocal fold lesions.
Adrianna Shembel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Adrianna Shembel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is the PI of the UT Larynx Lab—with joint appointments at The University of Texas at Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her research focuses on the role of the larynx in sensorimotor voice disorders, how increased vocal demands affect the larynx, and relationships between the larynx and articulatory, respiratory, and neural subsystems in vocal function and dysfunction. She did her postdoctoral training at the NYU School of Medicine studying the effects of vocal exercise on aging laryngeal muscle. She received her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh where she studied the effects of increased respiratory drive on laryngeal physiology in aerobic athletes. She earned her MA in Communication Sciences & Disorders from the University of Pittsburgh and BS in Communication Science & Disorders, with minors in theater, dance, and music with a voice emphasis from the Pennsylvania State University. She is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with a specialty diagnosing and treating patients with voice and laryngeal disorders. Adrianna is an avid runner and cyclist. When she’s not being Sporty Spice, you can find her belting tunes at karaoke.
Cara Stepp, Ph.D.
Dr. Stepp directs the STEPP LAB for Sensorimotor Rehabilitation Engineering and is a Professor in the Departments of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and Biomedical Engineering at Boston University.
Carolyn Smith-Morris, Ph.D.
Dr. Smith-Morris is a medical anthropologist and is a Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. She has expertise in chronic and complex illness, mixed methodologies including community- and home-based participatory research, and minority and Indigenous health. Her research examines experiences of diagnosis and chronic disease, particularly diabetes, to design more usable pathways and effective strategies in healthcare. Dr. Smith-Morris has trained and led collaborative teams in urban, rural, and remote settings and specializes in communal and family factors in health. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from Emory University, an M.S. in Rehabilitation Services from Florida State University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from The University of Arizona. Prior to joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Smith-Morris was a Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University for 20 years. She publishes to a broad, interdisciplinary audience through journals such as: Social Science & Medicine, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, BMC Health Services Research, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, and the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science. And her books include two monographs (Indigenous Communalism by Rutgers U. Press and Diabetes Among the Pima by U. Arizona Press), two edited volumes (Diagnostic Controversy by Routledge Press, and Chronic Conditions, Fluid States with Lenore Manderson, Rutgers U. Press).
Funding
K23DC020758 (PI: Laura Toles)
R01DC015570 (PI: Cara Stepp)
R01DC021694 (PI: Adrianna Shembel)
Contact Information
- Laura Toles, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
- Voice Behavior and Rehabilitation Laboratory
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2001 Inwood Rd. WC6.876, Dallas, TX 75390
- 214-645-2943