I-EaT Swallowing Laboratory

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I-EaT Swallowing Laboratory

Imaging, Evaluation, & Treatment of Swallowing Laboratory at Purdue

10/31/2025

This month, we celebrated the birthday of another beloved member. Wishing a very happy birthday to our wonderful undergraduate research assistant, Hannah .cosgray ! Hope you had a great birthday, Hannah! We’re so grateful to have you on the team!

10/30/2025

BREAKING NEWS: In case you haven't heard, our research program is moving to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign!
If you'd like to be part of our team, please take a look at this opportunity below.

🎓 PhD Opportunity in Dr. Georgia Malandraki 's I-EaT Lab – University of Illinois
Are you passionate about advancing swallowing science and making a real impact in the lives of individuals with swallowing disorders?
The I-EaT Lab (Imaging, Evaluation, and Treatment of Swallowing) is recruiting PhD students to join our dynamic, interdisciplinary team!

Current Illinois-Purdue collaborative projects include:
- A large NIH-funded RCT on wearable biofeedback in neurogenic dysphagia
- Development of SimulScan: a novel MRI sequence to better understand swallowing control and personalize outcomes - project funded by NIH
- AI-enhanced tools for biofeedback and diagnostics

We’re looking for:
Passionate, dedicated trainees with an interest in developing strong analytical skills and a growth mindset who want to be future leaders in the field of swallowing science.

Interested? Consider joining the virtual PhD recruitment event hosted by the College of Applied Health Sciences at Illinois on November 7th or contact us for more information!

-EaTLab of Illinois

10/29/2025

Today is World Stroke Day! 🧠 World Stroke Day reminds us of the global impact of stroke - a condition that affects nearly 1 in 4 adults in their lifetime.

Through research and education, we aim to better understand stroke mechanisms, improve swallowing care, and advance rehabilitation outcomes. Swallowing disorders are very common post-stroke, but treatment can be effective in improving eating safety, efficiency, and quality of life!

We are currently recruiting participants with stroke for two of our studies: 1) a swallowing treatment study that uses biofeedback, and 2) an MRI study to help us develop a new tool to diagnose swallowing problems early and support better treatment planning! Please see the next slides/photos for more information and to know how to contact us.

To participate or ask questions, please contact us at Imaging, Evaluation, & Treatment of Swallowing Laboratory at swallowinglab@purdue.edu or (765) 496-0207

10/27/2025

New I-EaT Lab Research Alert!
Dry mouth (xerostomia) can make swallowing, speaking, and oral hygiene a daily challenge. Current treatments are often temporary or invasive.
One of our recent collaborative studies, published in ACS Advanced Polymer Materials, explores a noninvasive solution: a biocompatible polymer-based saliva gel that mimics natural saliva release. This study was conducted by postdoc , under the advisement of our lab PI Georgia Malandraki and Boudouris, and in collaboration with Randy Kimple, Nicole Rogus-Pulia, Cristina Paz, and Dimitri Scofield at the UW-Madison.
KEY FINDINGS
✅ The saliva-gel swells up to 400% its original volume in 6 hours (storing artificial saliva)
✅ Releases 97% of stored artificial saliva within 4 hours
✅ Is reusable across 5 cycles
✅ Designed for sustained, functional relief
Future work will focus on enhancing durability, release capacity, and human testing.
This innovative gel is a first step in our efforts to develop simple and affordable solutions for those living with chronic dry mouth.
🔗 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12270425/

09/29/2025

New Research Alert!
Did you know that older adults may use different neuromuscular mechanisms to achieve biomechanical gains after swallowing exercise?

Our newly published study dives into the neuromuscular effects of two swallowing exercises: the Head Lift Exercise (HLE)/Shaker and the Recline Exercise (RE).

This study was the Master’s thesis of lab alumnus Samantha Mitchell, and it was based on data collected by lab alumni Rob Fujiki and Abby Oliver. Dr Georgia Malandraki was Samantha’s advisor, and Dr. Bruce Craig advised us on statistical analysis.

KEY FINDINGS:
- We found that while both exercises improve hyolaryngeal excursion (as seen in the prior study by Fujiki et al., 2019) in older adults, this is achieved without increasing submental muscle contraction/effort.
- Interestingly, we discovered a strong posthoc inverse relationship between muscle activation and time to peak contraction, suggesting two different potential neuromuscular mechanisms by which older adults improved their swallow biomechanics.

CONCLUSION: Examining in-depth neuromuscular swallow mechanisms could be important in developing personalized dysphagia treatments. Further research and developments in this area are warranted.

09/26/2025

This month, we celebrated the birthday of a beloved member. Happy Birthday to our brilliant coder, Lia ! 💻✨ Your dedication and hard work keep our projects moving forward. We are very grateful and appreciate all your work in the lab. Here’s to another year of innovation and success! 🥳 ❤️

09/24/2025

Are You Interested in Autism Research? We are sharing this opportunity for one of our Department's PhD candidates, Yesol Kim!

The Attention and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (AtteND) Lab invites children (ages 8-14 years old) with and without autism to help the researchers answer questions that will help them create tools for earlier diagnosis, better treatment, and better outcomes for children and families affected by autism. To achieve these goals, they depend on children and families who are willing to donate their time and energy to their research projects.

To learn how you and your child can participate, please call
765-496-0205 or email attendlab@purdue.edu.
You can also visit their website at:
https://hhs.purdue.edu/attendlab/

09/23/2025

Welcoming a new addition to the lab, Byron Joseph Kubik! Byron is a PhD student working under the advisement of Dr. Preeti Sivasankar. He is spending time in our lab this year, completing his first-year preliminary project! His interests include tracheoesophageal speech, voice prosthesis design & function, and fungal inhibition.

Welcome, Byron, to the I-EaT Research Lab team!

09/12/2025

We are excited to now introduce Julia Simantirakis and Lauren Angeles - two new undergraduates in the .lab! They joined the lab at the beginning of the semester and have been great additions to our team! With their background in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, they will be instrumental in assisting with our clinical research projects! Welcome, Julia and Lauren!

09/08/2025

Can your ability to raise your vocal pitch reveal something about how you swallow? - New Findings from our Lab!
One of our recent studies explores at a deeper level the shared and distinct biomechanics of maximum vocal pitch elevation and swallowing using videofluoroscopy and computational analysis of swallowing mechanics (CASM). This study was a secondary analysis of the Venkatraman et al (2020) data, led by lab trainees/alumni Samantha Mitchell under the guidance of Dr. Georgia Malandraki and Dr. !
🔍 Key findings:
• Both tasks involve similar anterior hyoid and laryngeal excursion – as seen before.
• Swallowing shows greater superior hyoid excursion and tongue base retraction – as expected.
• NOVEL FINDING: Maximum pitch elevation surprisingly involves greater pharyngeal shortening than swallowing!
These insights suggest that pitch glides may be a promising tool for targeting pharyngeal dysphagia, but this remains to be investigated in treatment studies. The potential implications for cross-system therapy could be exciting. Stay tuned for more future work in this area!

09/05/2025

NEW LAB MEMBER ALERT! We are so excited to welcome Dr. Kevin Renz Ambrocio , PhD, CCC-SLP, CBIS, our new Postdoctoral Fellow, in our lab and department family! Dr. Ambrocio earned his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh under the guidance of Professor Kendrea Garand - also a Purdue alumnus! His interests include studying dysphagia and airway disorders in neuromuscular diseases. Kevin's fellowship is supported by the T32 grant, and he will work with Dr. Malandraki and Dr. Sivasankar during his postdoctoral training. Welcome, Dr. Ambrocio!

09/03/2025

✨ Summer Lab Recap ✨
This summer was filled with hard work, teamwork, and celebrations! We started the -funded Wearable Biofeedback in Dysphagia Rehabilitation randomized clinical trial and continued two collaborative NIH-funded studies - a study led by Dr. Troche - on the effects of airway protective treatments for Parkinson's disease, and our MRI study with Dr. Sutton that will help us look deeper at the swallowing mechanism! We also published manuscripts, prepared presentations, participated in the for the Dysphagia Research Society, and celebrated our newest PhD candidate ( Peng!), as well as summer birthdays! It’s been a season of productivity, advocacy, fun, and new beginnings!

As the school year begins and we are preparing for part of our transition to Illinois, we’re excited to carry this momentum forward into new discoveries and growth opportunities ahead!

Address

715 Clinic Drive
West Lafayette, IN
47907

Telephone

+17654960207

Website

http://www.purdue.edu/i-eatlab/

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