The Aerodigestive Research Core (ARC) is comprised of passionate clinician scientists who are dedicated to improving dysphagia care and outcomes. Our mission is to improve assessment and clinical management approaches for upper aerodigestive tract disorders to optimize functions of swallowing, breathing, and airway clearance, patient quality of life, and survivorship. Emily Plowman, PhD, and her team strive to conduct pragmatic, meaningful and translatable clinical research that can be utilized by clinicians working ‘in the trenches’ to improve patient outcomes.
ARC has three inter-related research areas of study that collectively target our mission:
Focus 1: Increasing our understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing dysfunction of the aerodigestive tract. This includes increasing our understanding of disorders of the swallow, airway and speaking apparatus. Historically our team has focused on neuromuscular patient populations (ALS, OPMD, Myotonic Dystrophy, Inclusion Body Myositis). More recently we have expanded to include aerodigestive tract dysfunction as a result of cardiothoracic surgical procedures, lung transplantation, and congenital heart conditions and surgical interventions.
Focus 2: Development and validation of minimally invasive, pragmatic swallowing screening tools. We've successfully completed internal validation of the Physiologic Risk Index of Swallowing Impairment (PRISIM) scale for detection of swallowing impairment in ALS. Currently we are adopting this tool for other outpatient clinical patient populations and developing nursing screening tools for the intensive care unit (ICU) hospital setting. In this area we are also currently developing an electronic dysphagia risk prediction tool for individuals undergoing cardiovascular surgery to guide evidence-based triaged clinical care pathways.
Focus 3: Develop interventions to maintain and/or improve the underlying bulbar mechanism and physiologic reserve of the upper aerodigestive tract. Specifically, we are investigating targeted therapeutic interventions on aerodigestive physiology, function, patient reported quality of life, economic burden and survival.
Our team
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Maureen Folsom, AS, RT(R)(ARRT)
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Steven Maristela, MS, CF-SLP, CSP-PASP
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Kayla Croft, MS, CCC-SLP
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Amber Anderson, MS, CCC-SLP
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Lauren DiBiase, MS, CCC-SLP
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Lauren Wiele, MS, CCC-SLP
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Maddy Lee, MS, CCC-SLP
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Caroline Milikin, MS, CCC-SLP
Maureen is a Certified Radiologic Technologist – R.T.(R)(ARRT) and member of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. Originally from Ashford, Connecticut, she moved to Florida after graduating from high school where she worked in sheet metal fabrication, inventory control and as a quality control inspector, manufacturing various products including medical equipment components. 
Steven is a Filipino speech and language pathologist interested in dysphagia research focusing on laryngeal biomechanics and swallowing neuroplasticity. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Speech and Language Pathology from De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute (Cavite, Philippines). Soon after graduating, he served as a part-time lecturer. He provided clinical instruction and co-instructed classes like language processing and cognitive science and augmentative/alternative communication. He received his certified speech pathologist (CSP) credential from the Philippine Association of Speech-Language Pathologists (PASP) in December 2020 and has been a regular member since. In June 2023, He obtained his Master’s degree (M.S.) in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Loma Linda University in California, where he continued to develop his fascination for exercise physiology-based swallowing rehabilitation. 
Kayla is from Lake City, Florida. She is a Triple Gator earning her Bachelors and Master’s degrees from UF and most recently her CCC-SLP (clinical fellowship) in the ARC Laboratory. During her graduate program, Kayla worked in the ARC lab, completing a Masters Research Thesis that examined Nursing Practice Patterns for provision or Oral Care in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit setting. Kayla also completed several clinical practicum rotations during her graduate program in the ARC lab and proved herself to be a hardworking and dedicated team member. Kayla currently serves as a part-time research SLP on the cardiac ICU research studies and as a swallowing rater on the ARC lab studies. 
Although born in Michigan, Amber grew up in Dunnellon, Fl. After working 12 years in finance and accounting, Amber experienced a mild stroke at age 30 resulting in a brief period of aphasia (language impairment). This experience was impactful and lead to the desire to change professions into rehabilitation and speech language pathology. At this time, Amber returned to college to earn both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Florida, graduating Summa Cum Laude. 
Lauren graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York and earned her Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from East Carolina University. Lauren completed her clinical fellowship under mentorship by Dr. Plowman. She worked full time in the ARC laboratory for four years and after recently having her first baby, Lauren has continued working in the ARC lab as an expert swallowing imaging rater across several of the labs funded studies. 
Lauren is a Florida native growing up in Ponte Vedra Beach and completing her B.S. in Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University in 2020 and her Master’s in Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Florida. During her graduate program, the ARC lab inspired Lauren to develop a strong interest in dysphagia and she completed her clinical fellowship in the lab working on the cardiovascular R01. 
Maddy is from St. Petersburg, FL and is a double Gator – completing her Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2020 and her Master’s student in the Speech Language Pathology in May 2022. During both her undergraduate and graduate studies, Maddy worked as a research assistant in the ARC Lab performing hyoid kinematic analysis. She additionally completed a Master’s Research Thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Emily Plowman.
Caroline grew up in Richmond, Virginia where she completed a Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia. She moved to Florida to undertake her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Florida where she worked in the ARC lab and became passionate about dysphagia and clinical research. Current clinical trials
The ARC lab is fortunate to have received funding from six different NIH institutes, the Department of Defense, ALS Association, American Heart Association, Children’s Miracle Network and the American Speech and Hearing Association. Current funded studies are summarized below.
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Dissemination and Implementation of DIGEST as an Evidence-Based Measurement Tool in Cancer
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Mechanisms, Predictors and Clinical Markers of Dysphagia in Cardiac Surgical Patients
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Establishing Reference Values and Clinical Decision Points for Quantitative Videofluoroscopic Measures of Swallowing
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Safety of Metformin in C9orf72 ALS: Effects on RAN Proteins, Breathing, Imaging, & Metabolomic Outcome Measures
Our publications
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Expand to see our recent publications
Contact us to learn more about our lab or make a referral
Email: Emily.Plowman@osumc.edu