Dr Maria Dietrich

Dr. Maria Dietrich is a Research Associate in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at University Hospital Bonn in Germany. She directs the Vocal Control and Vocal Well-Being Lab (VoCoWell Lab) and the specialty outpatient clinic for functional voice disorders in the same department. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences at the University of Missouri. She completed her PhD and clinical fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. 

The VoCoWell Lab studies how individuals differ in their vocal control and vocal behavior as a function of stressor exposure and personality and how that impacts the risk for functional voice disorders. Research methods encompass basic and clinical voice science and psychophysiological and neuroimaging methods. In addition to studying vocal control in vocally healthy individuals, the VoCoWell Lab focuses clinically on patients with functional dysphonia and aphonia related to functional neurological disorder as well as occupational voice users with vocal fatigue. Current neuroimaging projects examine neurobiological and psychobiological signatures of vocal effort in teachers and emotional regulation in functional voice disorders. The research program aims to contribute to an evidence-based biopsychosocial model of risk for voice disorders that informs innovative screening, prevention, and treatment approaches.