Keynote Speakers

Dr. Rita Patel, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University and an adjunct associate professor at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Indiana University School of Medicine. She also holds the position of 'Extraordinary Professorship' at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

Her research and clinical expertise focus on addressing voice and upper airway disorders in adult and pediatric population, with specialization in endoscopic laryngeal imaging. Dr. Patel served as the Voice Clinic Director at University of Kentucky for 4 years, before moving to Indiana University.

Dr. Patel has been awarded 8 extramural grants from National agencies including ASHA (American Speech Language Hearing Association) and NIH (National Institutes of Health); and 5 intramural grants. In 2022, Dr. Patel was awarded fellow by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for her outstanding contributions to research and excellent teaching in the area of voice and voice disorders.

Currently, Dr. Patel serves as the editor-in-chief for the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology; American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation's Board of Trustees, and as an Advisory Board Member of Voice Foundation. She also serves as a reviewer for numerous journals in the fields of laryngology and speech language pathology and also serves as grant reviewer for the NIH study section, the Voice Foundation, and ASHA.