Select the image of the team member below to find out more...
Associate Professor Anna Miles PhD
Associate Professor Jacqui Allen PhD MD
Calvin Baker PhD
Fathima Shakeela Abdul Saleem PhD
Check out our lab in action...
Associate Professor Anna Miles PhD – Speech-Language Therapist
Anna Miles PhD is a full-time faculty member in Speech Science, Psychology at the University of Auckland. Dr Miles is a researcher, lecturer and clinician in the area of swallowing and swallowing disorders. She is the New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association Clinical Expert in Adult Dysphagia. Anna is Principle Investigator of the Swallowing Research Laboratory in the Centre of Brain Research at the University of Auckland.
The Swallowing and Voice Research Laboratory at the University of Auckland, led by Dr Miles, strives to improve the lives of people with swallowing difficulties through improved assessment, treatment and medical education. The laboratory hopes to reduce the risks of pneumonia and death associated with swallowing difficulties as well as improve the quality of life of suffers.
In addition to research supervision, Anna provides clinical teaching to students at the University of Auckland and provides a considerable amount of international and national teaching each year. Anna is a specialist speech-language therapist in dysphagia and provides national teaching in speciality areas of endoscopic evaluation of swallowing, videofluroscopic study of swallowing, surface EMG in dysphagia management and tracheostomy management.
Visit Anna’s UoA profile here.
a.miles@auckland.ac.nz
Associate Professor Jacqui Allen PhD MD – Laryngologist
Associate Professor Jacqueline Allen is a Laryngologist practicing in Auckland, New Zealand. A graduate of the University of Auckland, Dr Allen undertook Fellowship training at the Voice and Swallow Centre, University of California, Davis where she specialized in Voice and Dysphagia utilizing modern in-office techniques, endoscopy and laser surgery. She returned to New Zealand in 2010 and established the Auckland Voice and Swallow Centre, and the Swallowing and Voice Research Lab at University of Auckland where these techniques have been put to use. Research interests include neurogenic dysphagia, swallowing and nutrition in the older adult, vocal fold scar translational research (in which she has completed a doctoral degree), reflux disease and novel engineering modelling for swallow dysfunction.
Dr Allen is Past President of Dysphagia Research Society, a Member of the American Bronchoesophagological Association and Laryngology Society of Australasia and is Section Editor of Current Opinion in Otolaryngology and Annals of Rhinology, Otology and Laryngology. She has published more than 95 journal articles, 1 book, and 20 book chapters and is an Editorial Board member and reviewer for many international peer-reviewed journals including Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, European Archives of Otolaryngology and Laryngoscope. She currently lives with her husband and daughter, and two cats in Auckland.
Visit Jacqui’s UoA profile here.
j.allen@auckland.ac.nz
Calvin Baker PhD – Voice Scientist
Dr Calvin Peter Baker is a voice scientist and singing-voice specialist (BAPAM equivalent Voice Rehabilitation Coach; NCVS equivalent Vocologist) based in Auckland, New Zealand. He completed a Bachelor of Music in classical voice performance and has first-class honours and master’s degrees in the specialisation of studio pedagogy.
Calvin conducted his interdisciplinary doctoral research (PhD, Speech Science) at the University of Auckland, working between the School of Psychology and the School of Music. His research explores the links between self-perceptual and instrumental voice analyses and seeks to determine which tools are effective for tracking subtle changes in the singing voice. This work has clinical implications for working with singers with voice complaints, particularly in preventative and rehabilitative care. Calvin also conducts research across voice in general including diagnostics and treatment outcomes.
Currently, Calvin serves as a lecturer in Vocal Anatomy for Singers (MUS193b) and contributes as a guest lecturer for Musicians’ Health (MUS744) and Voice and Fluency (SPEECHSCI746). He is a Professional Teaching Fellow in the School of Music and an Honorary Research Fellow in Speech Science (School of Psychology), UoA. Calvin also serves as a member of the Centre for Brain Research Early Career Researchers committee.
Visit Calvin’s UoA profile here.
calvin.baker@auckland.ac.nz
Fathima Shakeela Abdul Saleem PhD – Speech-Language Therapist
Dr Shakeela Saleem is a research fellow in Speech Science, School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. Specializing in innovative swallowing assessments and management, She focuses on adults with neurodegenerative and neurogenetic conditions, as well as head and neck cancer. As an active member of the UoA Swallowing and Voice Research Laboratory, Shakeela is committed to enhancing the lives of individuals with swallowing difficulties through advanced assessment, treatment, and medical education. Her PhD project featured a two-treatment arm clinical trial aimed at improving voice, swallow, and cough skills in individuals with Parkinson’s disease.
Currently, she co-leads a randomized clinical trial evaluating the effects of expiratory muscle strength training on the swallowing function of head and neck cancer patients treated with primary chemoradiation therapy. Shakeela is also experienced in teaching and conducting dysphagia simulation training workshops. She mentors Master of Speech and Language Therapy practice students, guiding them in projects on voice and swallowing assessment and therapy approaches. She is a registered member of New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association. She also practices as a part-time speech-language therapist in acute adult care at the Middlemore hospital, Auckland.
View Shakeela’s UoA profile here.
shakeela.saleem@auckland.ac.nz