29: Developing a Novel App to Improve Speech Intelligibility in Parkinson's Disease with Gemma Moya-Galé

The Parkinson’s Research Podcast: New Discoveries in Neuroscience

Parkinson's disease significantly impacts various aspects of communication, and this can make it challenging for people with the disease to communicate effectively, be understood by others, and engage in social situations. Dr. Gemma Moya-Galé joins this episode to talk about her work on voice and communication in people with Parkinson’s disease. In particular, she discusses a novel app she and her team are developing, with funding from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, to help people with Parkinson’s improve how well their speech is understood. The app uses evidence-based principles from speech therapy and noise-augmented automatic speech recognition to provide speech training and feedback. She also shares her recent research on linguistically and culturally responsive methods for addressing communication challenges in both English- and Spanish-speaking individuals with Parkinson's disease, and how this approach has the potential to improve clinical care. Gemma is an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, as well as the Director of the Communication, Technology, and Language Diversity Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University.

This podcast is geared toward researchers and clinicians. If you live with Parkinson’s or have a friend or family member with PD, listen to The Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast at michaeljfox.org/podcasts. We’re excited to announce that we will be merging our two podcasts in 2025, and we invite you to subscribe to our Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinson’s Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts for future episodes featuring scientists, doctors and people with Parkinson's talking about different aspects of life with the disease as well as new research toward treatment breakthroughs.