Maude Desjardins

Maude Desjardins is an assistant professor at University Laval and researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Rehabilitation and Social Inclusion (Quebec, Canada). She earned a Ph.D. in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences from the Medical University of South Carolina (under the direction of Dr. Heather S. Bonilha), where she specialized in the study of voice disorders and the effectiveness of voice therapies, particularly in relation to age-related voice changes (presbyphonia) and phono-respiratory interactions. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware (Dr. Verdolini Abbott’s Voice and Motor Learning Lab) where she continued to study the biomechanics of voice production and the underlying pathophysiology of voice disorders.

Today, Dr. Desjardins’ work focuses on the mechanisms underlying normal and pathological voice production, with a particular emphasis on the links between the phonatory and respiratory systems. She aims to identify the physiological and psychosocial factors that contribute to the chronicity of voice disorders in order to improve service pathways and therapeutic approaches for these patients.