SCSD Alumna Takes a Deep Dive Into Her New Research at Boston Medical Center

Posted by Emily Montarroyos on

Morgan Raskin, a Florida State University (FSU) double alumna who earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the School of Communication Science and Disorders (SCSD), is pursuing her PhD at the Mass General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions, where she works at the Boston Medical Center (BMC).

“I really value research and the opportunity to cultivate creative minds. FSU really encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration with different professionals,” Raskin said.

“Between BMC and MGH, [FSU SCSD] prepared me to have this cross communication between separate organizations.”

At BMC, she is currently working on two separate studies for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that are both under a P50 grant. These projects aim to improve the detection and phenotyping of vocal hyperfunction and evaluate the use of ambulatory biofeedback in voice therapy to improve clinical outcomes.

Her passion for voice physiology was sparked by her time playing French horn for the Marching Chiefs, where she truly gained an appreciation for the mechanics. These devices monitor differing vibrations that come from the skin under the neck and see the relationship between this vocal fold activity and vibration. These studies are on acoustic and voice research, with a primary goal of improving the human perception of voice quality and aiding in the treatment of voice disorders of sound.

“I loved sound perception which is really what drew me to the voice side of speech language pathology, which is continuing the cultivation of an ear and what you hear and perceive,” Raskin said.

During her research in both her undergraduate and master’s degrees, Raskin was heavily influenced by Dr. Richard Morris and sees him as a mentor. Raskin worked with Morris on a multitude of projects and was encouraged by him to continue her work in the field. While she was preparing to move to her role in BMC, Morris served as her main point of contact.

“He helped me to see my strengths when I lost sight of what those were. Even when I had difficulty in a project, he would reassure me and say ‘No, this is really complex.’ His encouragement, support, and mentorship as a professor and as a human was just phenomenal,” Raskin said.

Raskin remains committed to advancing her research and continuing her work as a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) at BMC to improve the treatment of voice disorders.