Marylou  Gelfer, Ph.D. 

Associate Professor 

Interests and Expertise
Dr. Gelfer's research interests center on the voice and voice disorders. Much of her research has been devoted to establishing normative data for various vocal parameters (fundamental frequency, intensity, laryngeal quality) and procedures for valid and reliable acoustic measurement. Dr. Gelfer's expertise in the acoustic characteristics of voice led her to an interest in the voices transgendered individuals, and acoustic cues for male vs. female voice quality. Current research directions include continued development of reliable voice evaluation procedures as well as assessing the outcomes of voice therapy.

Recent Publications
Gelfer, Marylou P. and Pazera, John F. (2006) Maximum Duration of Sustained /s/ and /z/ and the s/z Ratio WithControlled Intensity, Journal of Voice, 20: 369-379.

Gelfer, Marylou P. and Mikos, Victoria A. (2005) The Relative Contributions of Speaking Fundamental Frequency and Formant Frequencies to Gender Identification Based on Isolated Vowels, Journal of Voice, 19: 544-554.

Gelfer, M.P. & Schofield, Keven J. (2000). Comparison of Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of Voice in Male-to-Female Transsexuals Perceived as Female vs. Those Perceived as Male. Journal of Voice, 14, 22-33.

Gelfer, M.P. (1999). Voice Therapy for the Male-to-Female Transgendered Client. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.

Gelfer, M.P. & Young, S.R. (1997). Comparisons of Intensity Measures and Their Stability in Male and Female Speakers. Journal of Voice, 11, 178-186.

Gelfer, M.P., Andrews, M.L., & Schmidt, C.P. (1996). Documenting Laryngeal Change Following Prolonged Loud Reading: A Videostroboscopic Study, Journal of Voice, 10, 368-377.

Gelfer, M.P. (1995). Frequency, Intensity, and Vowel Selection: Effects on Measures of Phonatory Stability, Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38: 1189-1198.

Gelfer, M.P., & Fendel, D. (1995). Comparisons of Jitter, Shimmer, and Signal-to-noise ratio from Directly-digitized vs. Taped Voice Samples, Journal of Voice, 9: 378-382.

Gelfer, M.P. (1993). A Multidimensional Scaling Study of Voice Quality in Females, Phonetica, 50: 15-27.

Speaker Topics 
Voice & Speech Disorders
Voice, Care of the Professional
Voice, Transgendered

Education
Ph.D., University of Florida, Experimental Phonetics, 1984
M.A., Northwestern University, Speech Pathology, 1976
B.S.S., Northwestern University, Speech Pathology, 1975