Jesse D. Hoffmeister, PhD, CCC-SLP

Recent Graduate

How we control our voices, how we learn to speak and to sing, and how we learn to protect (or not protect) the airway all appear to be tied to emotional and cognitive state. Specifically, it appears that there is a positive impact of calm, alert state, as opposed to distressed/frantic state, on cranial sensorimotor control. This positive impact can be observed when treating populations with disorders in swallowing, voice, speech/fluency disorders and irritable larynx syndrome, as well as in training of supranormal cranial sensorimotor behaviors (ie an opera singer learning a new aria). The fact that these seemingly disparate disorder areas and patient populations are united by a common factor, the positive impact of calm, alert emotional and cognitive state on behavioral therapy, is intriguing in that it suggests a higher-level process by which cranial sensorimotor control may be governed. Jesse's research interests are twofold. He investigates behavioral and neural relationships between cranial sensorimotor control and cognitive/emotional state in animal models of Parkinson Disease. In addition to work in basic science, Jesse is a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist in the pediatric Voice and Swallow Clinics at the University of Wisconsin, where he sub-specializes in pediatric swallowing disorders. The second arm of his research is clinically based, and is aimed at establishing normative data in pediatric swallowing and in optimizing treatment outcomes for infants and children with dysphagia. Jesse received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance, Communicative Sciences and Disorders and European Studies , a Master of Science Degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, and is currently a PhD student in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Wisconsin.