UF researchers receive funds to study swallowing dysfunction

Two University of Florida researchers studying swallowing disorders have been awarded grants from the Research Opportunity Fund 2001 through UF’s Office of Research and Graduate Programs.

Jay Rosenbek, Ph.D., a professor in the department of communicative disorders at UF’s College of Health Professions, received $6,913 for a pilot study of an innovative technique aimed at restoring a person’s ability to swallow after stroke. Rosenbek is assessing whether stimulating the back of the mouth and throat with cold helps initiate swallowing and expands the area of the brain that controls this function.

Giselle Mann, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor in the same department, received $20,000 to study whether implementation of an exercise program can strengthen throat muscles and prevent swallowing disorders in patients undergoing radiation treatment to the head and neck. In addition, her project was recently awarded a Department of Health Florida Biomedical Research Program Grant worth $194,714.