The Aerodigestive Research Core (ARC) is comprised of a group of passionate clinician scientists who are dedicated to improving dysphagia care and outcomes.
The mission of the Aerodigestive Research Core (ARC) 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. Dr. Plowman 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 of improving patient outcomes, quality of life, and survivorship depicted below.
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 have 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
Dr. Veena Kallambettu is a speech pathologist and post-doctoral scholar specializing in voice and swallowing rehabilitation in head and neck cancer. She earned her Master's degree in Speech Pathology from the University of Northern Iowa in 2013 and completed her clinical fellowship at the University of Iowa prior to joining the ENT voice and swallowing team at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. With over 10 years of experience, her interests in clinical research led her to obtain her PhD in Speech and Hearing Science from The Ohio State University in 2024.
Veena’s research interests span improving diagnostic accuracy and intervention efficacy in swallowing disorders. Her clinical expertise and contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Elwood Chaney Award for Clinical Excellence from the Ohio Speech Language and Hearing Association in 2021, the Louis DiCarlo Award in 2021 from the ASH Foundation, and the Career Development Award from the Dysphagia Research Society in 2023.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Veena is a musician trained in Carnatic classical, enjoys exploring local parks and dissecting fan theories around popular TV shows.
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. After a major health complication and recovery in her late 20s and early 30s, Maureen was inspired to go into the medical field to support others going through their own health journeys. Ultimately, she decided to combine her knowledge of machinery with patient care and entered into the field of X-ray technology. Maureen graduated as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society from Santa Fe College with an A.S. in Radiography in 2019. Following graduation Maureen worked at an urgent care center and began working in the ARC lab on a PRN basis conducting fluoroscopic swallowing exams for various funded research studies on a PRN basis.
In 2022, Maureen joined the ARC lab on a full-time basis and she has since expanded her roles beyond the lab radiographer to incorporate her managerial initial roots as the ARC lab manager. Maureen strives to provide the best imaging and patient care possible. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, doing arts and crafts, crocheting and and all kinds of DIY projects.
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.
Steven completed his clinical fellowship in the ARC Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Plowman at the University of Florida working in the Cardiac ICU. He moved to Ohio in Fall of 2024 to commence his Doctorate in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Medicine at the Ohio State University.
Steven participates in CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting during his downtime, to which he attributes his deep interest in fitness and exercise physiology to. He also likes to sing and spend quality time with his 2-year-old Great Dane, Astrid, when he is not engrossed in dysphagia literature in his spare time.
Jacqueline is a speech language pathologist who specializes in evaluation and treatment of dysphagia across various populations. She lived in Los Angeles, CA until relocating to Ohio in 2014 to complete her schooling. She graduated from The Ohio State University with her Master's in Speech Language Pathology in 2018 and completed her clinical fellowship in 2019 with an emphasis in dysphagia management and clinical focus in head and neck oncology at OSUWMC. Her interests include research and functional outcomes following disease management for various etiologies of dysphagia in both acute care and outpatient settings. She enjoys presenting on voice and swallowing and has been an invited speaker at national conferences. Most recently, Jacqueline joined the ARC lab team in May of 2024.
In her personal time, Jacqueline enjoys knitting, spending time with friends, and traveling to visit her family in California. She also enjoys traveling the world with her most recent adventures taking her to Montenegro and Croatia.
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. When not working hard in the lab, Kayla enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to the beach, trying new restaurants, reading, and listening to true crime podcasts.
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. Amber completed her Clinical Fellowship in the Aerodigestive Research Core laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Emily Plowman. She is involved in funded clinical trials in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). She also has with Dr. Plowman in the Neuromuscular outpatient clinic and is the Cardiothoracic ICU Study Coordinator and primary research SLP at UF Health/Shands Hospital Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She is passionate about helping patients with breathing, swallowing, and communication disorders and feels her own life experiences provide her with a powerful perspective in her provision of clinical care.
Amber currently serves as an expert imaging rater on the ARC lab studies. When not in the lab, Amber enjoys cooking, baking, volunteering, and spending time with family, friends, and animals.
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. During her free time, Lauren enjoys traveling, watching football, and spending time with her family.
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. When Lauren completed her clinical fellowship, she was recruited to join one of the Gator Cardiac Surgeons who was creating an adult Cardiac Surgery Center at the UT Health Austin where she now works as a Speech-Language Pathologist in the Cardiac ICU at Ascension Health Hospital. Lauren has remained working for the ARC lab as one of the videofluoroscopy and fiberoptic endoscopic swallowing study expert raters.
Outside of lab and classes, Lauren enjoys being active and spending time with her family, friends, and puppy!
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.
During her graduate program, Maddy developed a strong interest in pediatric dysphagia, particularly in infants with congenital heart disease. She completed her Clinical Fellowship in the ARC lab in 2023 working on the congenital heart and neonatal ICU related pediatric studies. Upon completion of her fellowship Maddy was recruited to work at John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (with another ARC lab alum’ Michelle Saade). Maddy has remained working for the ARC lab as an expert videofluoroscopy and endoscopy rater for adult and pediatric studies.
During her free time, Maddy enjoys spending time with friends and family, baking, and traveling!
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. Caroline completed her Clinical Fellowship in the ARC lab between 2022-23 and currently works as a SLP at Atrium Health in Charlotte North Carolina. Caroline remains working for the ARC lab and she serves as an expert videofluoroscopy and endoscopy rater.
Outside of lab and class, Caroline loves to spend time with her family, friends, and two dogs, Drake and Chief!
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.
Funding: National Institute of Cancer, 1R01 CA271223-01A1
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: K. Hutcheson)
Dates: 2/15/2023 - 1/30/2028
In collaboration with Drs. Kate Hutcheson (MD Anderson) and Nicole Rogus Pulia (University of Wisconsin Madison), we undertook a five-year dissemination and implementation (D & I) clinical trial in 2023 that seeks to scale up the recently validated Dynamic Imaging Grade of Swallowing Toxicity (DIGEST) instrument via completion of the following specific aims:
- Demonstrate validity of DIGEST in diverse oncology populations and imaging acquisition protocols
- Examine context and fidelity of natural dissemination of DIGEST in real-world early adopters
- Evaluate active implementation strategies to improve reach and fidelity of DIGEST in clinical practice.
This work is funded by the National Cancer institute (1R01 CA271223).
Funding: National Institute of Nursing Research, R01 NR019183-01A1
Role: Principal Investigator (MPI: Plowman & Jeng)
Dates: 4/1/2022 – 3/31/2027
Dysphagia (swallowing impairment) is a common complication of cardiac surgical procedures leading to dehydration, reintubation, aspiration pneumonia, increased health care utilization, cost of care and length of hospitalization. Although preventable, dysphagia-related aspiration pneumonia is a major cause of 90-day mortality. In this study we target current knowledge gaps that thwart clinical care models as we seek to identify:
- Independent contributing risk factors for the development of dysphagia following cardiac surgery,
- Sensitive clinical bedside biomarkers of swallowing impairment, and
- Governing physiologic mechanisms of dysphagia during the postoperative recovery period. Information collected will be used to produce two pragmatic clinical tools that include:
- An open-access electronic dysphagia risk prediction calculator to enable accurate forecasting and facilitate personalized and evidenced-based triaged care pathways.
- A validated bedside dysphagia screening tool to enable accurate and early detection of dysphagia in the cardiac intensive care unit.
This clinical trial is funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (R01 NR020175-01A1).
Funding: National Institute of Aging, R01 AG077481-09
Role: Principal Investigator (MPI: Plowman & Steele)
Dates: 1/8/2022 – 7/30/2027
Dysphagia (swallowing impairment) is a serious health condition seen in many age-related diseases. Although videofluoroscopy is an international “gold standard” dysphagia diagnostic exam, normative physiologic healthy reference values across the age span do not exist to guide diagnostic interpretation.
In our previous R01 (DC011020), we developed a rigorous method for measuring swallowing physiology: the Analysis of Swallowing Physiology: Events, Kinematics and Timing (ASPEKT Method). In the current R01 renewal, we will:
- Collect healthy reference values of swallowing for the ASPEKT outcome across the adult life span
- Demonstrate scalability of the ASPEKT Method across commonly used variations in clinical videofluoroscopy testing protocols
- Profile swallowing pathophysiology in clinical populations to identify clinical decision points that can be used for diagnosis and outcome measurement.
Our vision is that the ASPEKT Method will enable clinicians to compare patient measures to healthy reference values, facilitating quantification and evidence-based interpretation of the presence, nature and severity of swallowing impairment. Ultimately, we seek to generate data that will shift subjective dysphagia diagnostic practices toward a quantitative and evidence-based diagnostic framework to improve resource utilization, treatment planning, and patient outcomes.
This clinical trial is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Catriona Steele (University Health Network, Toronto) and Ashwini MacDonald (MacMasters University) and is supported by the National Institute of Aging.
Funding: Department of Defense Clinical Trial Grant #13687585
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: L. Ranum)
Dates: 9/1/2023 – 8/30/2025.
The objective of this clinical trial is to complete a small-scale human Phase II clinical trial (NCT04220021) to assess the safety and potential efficacy of metformin for the treatment of C9 ALS, identify relevant biomarkers, and prepare for a large multi-site placebo-controlled follow-up trial.
The specific aims of this study are to:
- Assess the safety of metformin for the treatment of C9 ALS
- Test the hypothesis that metformin will reduce RAN protein levels in patient biofluids
- Identify molecular and imaging biomarkers that may aid in future clinical trial design, patient selection, efficiency, and interpretation
- Prepare if the current trial is successful, for a large-scale placebo-controlled follow-up Phase III clinical trial.
This Phase II clinical trial is supported by the Department of Defense (HT9425-23-1-0065).
Our publications
Plowman EK, Anderson A, York JD, DiBiase L, Vasilopoulos T, Arnaoutakis G, Beaver T, Martin T, Jeng EI. Dysphagia after cardiac surgery: Prevalence, risk factors, and associated outcomes. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2021 Mar 3:S0022-5223(21)00405-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2021.02.087. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33814177.
Donohue, C., Wiele, L., Terry, A., Martin, T., Vasilopolous, T., Jeng, E., Plowman, E.K. Preoperative respiratory strength training is feasible and safe and improves pulmonary physiologic capacity in individuals undergoing cardiovascular surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. Open. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjon.2023.07.005
Dallal York J, Leonard K, Anderson A, DiBiase L, Jeng EI, Plowman EK. Discriminant Ability of the 3-Ounce Water Swallow Test to Detect Aspiration in Acute Postoperative Cardiac Surgical Patients. Dysphagia. 2021 Jul 15. doi: 10.1007/s00455-021-10333-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34268585.
Plowman, E. K., Chheda, N., Anderson, A., Dallal York, J., DiBiase, L., Vasilopoulos, T., Arnaoutakis, G., Beaver, T., Martin, T., BatJeng, E. (2020). Vocal Fold Mobility Impairment Following Cardiovascular Surgery: Incidence, Risk Factors and Sequela. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, S0003-4975(20)31696-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.07.074. PMID: 33075318.
Dallal-York J, Segalewitz T, Croft K, Vasilopoulos T, Pelaez A, Pipkin M, Machuca TN, Plowman EK. Incidence, risk factors, and sequelae of dysphagia mediated aspiration following lung transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2022 Aug;41(8):1095-1103. Epub 2022 May 26. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2022.05.001. PMID: 35662492.
Dallal-York J, Croft K, Anderson A, DiBiase L, Donohue C, Vasilopoulos T, Shahmohammadi A, Pelaez A, Pipkin M, Hegland KW, Machuca TN, Plowman EK. A prospective examination of swallow and cough dysfunction after lung transplantation. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2023 Apr;35(4):e14458. doi: 10.1111/nmo.14458. Epub 2022 Sep 27. PMID: 36168190.
Plowman EK, Gray LT, Chapin J, Anderson A, Vasilopoulos T, Gooch C, Vu T, Wymer JP. Respiratory Strength Training in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Multicenter, Sham-Controlled Trial. Neurology. 2023 Feb 20:10.1212/WNL.0000000000206830. doi: 10.1212/WNL. 0000000000206830. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36805435.
Tabor Gray L, Locatelli E, Vasilopoulos T, Wymer J, Plowman EK. Dextromethorphan/quinidine for the treatment of bulbar impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2023 Jun 2. doi: 10.1002/acn3.51821. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37265174.
Tabor Gray L, McElheny KL, Vasilopoulos T, Wymer J, Smith BK, Plowman EK. Predictors of Peak Expiratory Cough Flow in Individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dysphagia. 2023 Apr;38(2):719-725. doi: 10.1007/s00455-022-10503-8. Epub 2022 Aug 5. PMID: 35931882.
Tabor-Gray, L., Vasilopoulos, T., Wheeler-Hegland, K., Wymer, J., & Plowman, E. K. (2020). Reflexive Airway Sensorimotor Responses in Individuals with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dysphagia, 10.1007/s00455-020-10171-6. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10171-6.
View our publications
Contact us to learn more about our lab or make a referral
Email: Emily.Plowman@osumc.edu