About the Program

UAB Voice Center Clinical Fellowship 2024-2025

Application Due Date: February 23, 2024

Fellowship Dates: October 7, 2024- September 30, 2025

The UAB Voice Center is an inter-professional center of excellence providing the highest quality of care to people dealing with voice and upper airway disorders, dysphagia, head and neck cancer, and facial nerve palsies. The center is staffed by 6 voice, swallowing, and upper airway specialized speech-language pathologists, a voice and upper airway centric clinical fellow, a voice and upper airway specialized physician’s associate, two fellowship-trained laryngologists, and a fellow in laryngology.

The UAB Voice Center is part of the larger University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Otolaryngology academic practice within one of the largest academic medical centers in the southeast region and the largest in Alabama. UAB was named the #1 Large Employer in the US in 2021 and provides a respectful, warm, and welcoming environment for learning and living.

The UAB Voice Center Clinical Fellowship will provide fellows with comprehensive exposure to the full cadre of disorders of the voice, airway, swallowing, head and neck cancer, neuromuscular diseases treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS), and facial nerve palsies including behavioral, medical and surgical management. Fellows will become independent members of several inter-professional teams through practice in voice and laryngology clinics, in-office laryngology procedures, botulinum toxin injection clinics, facial nerve clinics, DBS teams, and others. The fellow will become skilled in a variety of voice, upper airway, and swallowing practices including; comprehensive clinical voice evaluations; acoustic and aerodynamic assessments; rigid and flexible laryngeal imaging; modified barium swallow studies in radiology; flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing; high-resolution manometry; comprehensive upper airway evaluations; singing voice therapy; and tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis (TEP). Therapy is conducted both in-person and via telehealth to develop a well-rounded clinician equipped to be an independent practitioner in an inter-professional center at the end of the fellowship. Team rounds in voice and dysphagia, multi-institutional voice therapy difficult case conferences, DBS rounds, tumor board, and weekly didactic sessions with the Otolaryngology residents will complete the fellow’s clinical learning. Participating in the UAB Voice Lab’s research studies and team meetings will provide additional scholarly opportunities.

Goals and Objectives 

Following the completion of the Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship at the UAB Voice Center, the fellow will:

• Have the knowledge and skill to assess and behaviorally treat disorders of voice, swallowing and upper airway independently and at the highest level of competence.

• Attain the highest level of competence to perform instrumental tests such as laryngeal videostroboscopy, upper airway instrumental assessments, acoustic and aerodynamic assessment, modified barium swallows, flexible endoscopic evaluation of the swallow, pharyngeal manometry, pulmonary functions testing, and use of the EMG for botulinum toxin clinics and diagnostic assessments.

• Assess, fit, and troubleshoot TEPs independently.

• Possess competence and confidence to immediately transition to any inter-professional voice care team.

• Complete at least one professional presentation at a national or international conference.

• Develop and implement a research study in an area of interest in voice swallowing or upper airway.

Fellowship Timeline: October 7, 2024-September 30, 2025

The fellowship will span a full 12 months to allow for completion of the 9-month mandated ASHA clinical fellowship and the opportunity to attain the Certificate of Clinical Competence. The fellowship is offered to applicants who have successfully completed a master’s degree or beyond in Speech-Language Pathology at an ASHA-accredited university. The applicant must be eligible for Alabama licensure in speech-language pathology and obtain licensure before the fellowship's start date. We are unable to accommodate requests for visa assistance or support from applicants applying from outside the US.

A singing background is not required but preferred.

How to Apply

Send electronically in one PDF: Application due no later than February 23, 2024

• A letter of intent outlining why you are interested in a voice-centric clinical fellowship.

• Curriculum Vitae/Resume

• An unofficial transcript documenting completion or expected completion of graduate studies in speech pathology by August 1, 2024

• Name, credentials, institution employed, email, and telephone numbers from three people who have directly worked with the applicant ( one must be from a clinical supervisor) must be included in the letter of intent or on the resume. Letters of recommendation will be requested at a later date as needed and do not need to accompany the application.

Applicants must:

• Be eligible for licensure in the State of Alabama, check http://abespa.alabama.gov/

• Have successfully completed a master’s degree or beyond in Speech-Language Pathology at an ASHA-accredited university by the start of the fellowship. 

Combine all documents into one PDF and send to: entvoicefellows@uabmc.edu
You will receive a confirmation email response when the packet is successfully submitted. All questions should be directed to: entvoicefellows@uabmc.edu.

Contact Information

Edie R. Hapner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ASHA Fellow