About

Lauren Tracy, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine. She completed her medical degree at Tufts University School of Medicine and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University. Her scholarly, research, and practice interests include glottic carcinoma, airway reconstructive surgery, and voice outcomes. She is involved in clinical education and research within the Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at Boston University, contributing to advancements in voice and airway reconstructive procedures.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Medicine
• Audiology
• Psychology
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Linguistics
• Acoustics
• Speech recognition
• Communication
• Telecommunications

Selected publications

• Should Superior Laryngeal Nerve Block Be Performed for Neurogenic Cough?

  The Laryngoscope · 2026-04-28

  article1st authorCorresponding

  SLN block may be offered as a treatment for neurogenic cough after guideline-directed evaluation and treatment for other causes have been attempted. There is an ~80% success rate which may require multiple injections. Risks appear limited; however, long-term benefit is not yet determined.

  PublisherDOI

• Should a Drain Be Routinely Placed After Type I Medialization Thyroplasty?

  The Laryngoscope · 2026-05-13

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Physiological Correlates of the Spectral Aggregate of the High-Passed Fundamental Frequency in Adductor Laryngeal Dystonia

  Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · 2026-04-15

  articleOpen access

  Objective: The spectral aggregate of the high-passed fundamental frequency (SAH f o ) is an automated acoustic measure associated with the primary acoustic discontinuities present in the speech of individuals with adductor laryngeal dystonia (AdLD). Acoustic discontinuities (e.g., phonation breaks, frequency shifts, creak) are also associated with supraglottic compression and visual laryngeal obstruction postures that occur during laryngeal spasms (i.e., phasic or tonic laryngeal dystonic activity). The purpose of this study was to determine whether SAH f o is similarly reflective of these physiological manifestations of AdLD. Method: Thirty-two speakers with AdLD read voiced and voiceless phoneme-loaded sentences while undergoing transnasal laryngoscopy. Simultaneous microphone and high-speed videoendoscopy signals were recorded. SAH f o was automatically calculated from the acoustic signal, and laryngeal postures (visual laryngeal obstructions, anterior–posterior and mediolateral supraglottic compression) were manually labeled. A generalized linear mixed-effects analysis assessed the effects of sentence type (voiced, voiceless), obstruction events (obstructed view of vocal folds, visible vocal folds), mediolateral compression, anterior–posterior compression, and the interaction of Mediolateral × Anterior–Posterior compression on SAH f o . Results: Sentence type, obstruction events, and mediolateral compression were significantly related to SAH f o . Anterior–posterior compression did not have a significant effect, but there was a significant interaction between mediolateral and anterior–posterior compression. SAH f o was significantly lower when both mediolateral and anterior–posterior compression were mild and significantly higher when mediolateral compression was severe, regardless of presence or severity of anterior–posterior compression. Conclusion: Findings suggest that SAH f o is related to the laryngeal postures associated with AdLD-specific acoustic discontinuities, providing preliminary physiological support of the use of SAH f o in speakers with AdLD.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impact of endoscopic craniofacial resection on simulated nasal airflow and heat transport

  UNC Libraries · 2026-04-14

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Endoscopic craniofacial resections (CFR) are performed for extensive anterior skull base lesions. This surgery involves removal of multiple intranasal structures, potentially leading to empty nose syndrome (ENS). However, many patients remain asymptomatic postoperatively. Our objective was to analyze the impact of CFR on nasal physiology and airflow using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This is the first CFD analysis of post-CFR patients. METHODS: Three-dimensional sinonasal models were constructed from 3 postoperative images using Mimics^TM . Hybrid computational meshes were created. Steady inspiratory airflow and heat transport were simulated at patient-specific flow rates using shear stress transport k-omega turbulent flow modeling in Fluent^TM . Simulated average heat flux (HF) and surface area where HF exceeded 50 W/m² (SAHF50) were compared with laminar simulations in 9 radiographically normal adults. RESULTS: Three adults underwent CFR without developing ENS. Average HF (W/m² ) were 132.70, 134.84, and 142.60 in the CFR group, ranging from 156.24 to 234.95 in the nonoperative cohort. SAHF50 (m² ) values were 0.0087, 0.0120, and 0.0110 in the CFR group, ranging from 0.0082 to 0.0114 in the radiographically normal cohort. SAHF50 was distributed throughout the CFR cavities, with increased HF at the roof and walls compared with the nonoperative cohort. CONCLUSION: Average HF was low in the CFR group compared with the nonoperative group. However, absence of ENS in most CFR patients may be due to large stimulated mucosal surface area, commensurate with the nonoperative cohort. Diffuse distribution of stimulated area may result from turbulent mixing after CFR. To better understand heat transport post-CFR, a larger cohort is necessary.

  PublisherDOI

• Are Auditory-Perceptual Evaluations of Dysphonia by Experienced Voice Clinicians Affected by Knowledge of Speaker Race?

  American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · 2025-04-14

  articleOpen access

  PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate implicit racial bias in auditory-perceptual evaluations of dysphonic voices completed by experienced voice-focused speech-language pathologists (SLPs). METHOD: Thirty SLPs specializing in voice disorders listened to audio files of 20 Black speakers and 20 White speakers of General American English with voice disorders. The SLPs rated the overall severity of dysphonia (OS) of each voice heard using a 100-unit visual analog scale and then completed the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) to estimate their implicit racial bias. RESULTS: There were no significant main effects of speaker race or labeled race on OS ratings; however, there was a small but significant interaction effect between them: Race labeling resulted in a minimizing effect for Black speakers, but not White speakers. No significant relationship was found between Harvard IAT scores and differences in OS ratings by race-labeling condition. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that experienced, voice-focused SLPs demonstrated a minimizing bias in their auditory-perceptual ratings of dysphonia of Black speakers. This bias is small and may not be clinically significant but, in some cases, could contribute to worse clinical care of Black people with voice disorders.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Automated Creak Identifies Laryngeal Dystonia During Conversational Speech

  The Laryngoscope · 2025-12-22 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Creak is an acoustic feature that serves an umbrella term for irregularities in fundamental frequency. This study evaluated whether automated creak distinguished speakers with adductor laryngeal dystonia (AdLD), primary muscle tension dysphonia (pMTD), and those without voice disorders during conversational speech. METHODS: Two stimulus types (reading passage and conversational speech) were produced by 50 speakers with AdLD, 50 speakers with pMTD, and 50 control speakers. An automated creak detector was used to calculate the percentage (%) of creak in both stimuli. The effects of group, stimulus type, and their interaction on % creak were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted and the area under the curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the creak detector in distinguishing among groups. RESULTS: We found a statistically significant effect of group on % creak, but no effect of stimulus type on % creak, suggesting that creak distinguished speakers with AdLD, pMTD, and controls during both a reading passage and conversational speech. AUC values indicated acceptable discriminative ability in distinguishing AdLD speakers from both pMTD speakers and controls across both stimuli types. CONCLUSION: Automated creak demonstrates promise as a discriminative feature for identifying differences between speakers with AdLD from pMTD and controls in both a reading passage and conversational speech.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Observation of Laryngeal Postures via High-Speed Videoendoscopy in Adductor Laryngeal Dystonia

  Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology · 2025-11-30 · 1 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: Adductor laryngeal dystonia (AdLD) is a neurological disorder characterized by spasms of the laryngeal muscles during speech, resulting in acoustic discontinuities. High-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) has been used to capture supraglottic compression and visual obstructions of the vocal folds during sustained phonation in speakers with AdLD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-occurrence of these laryngeal postures via HSV and acoustic discontinuities in speakers with and without AdLD during connected speech. METHODS: Speakers with (n = 16) and without (n = 16) AdLD read sentences while undergoing trans nasal laryngoscopy. Microphone and HSV signals were simultaneously recorded. Acoustic discontinuities and laryngeal postures via HSV were independently manually labeled. A multinomial logistic regression was performed to examine the relationship between the presence of acoustic discontinuities-labeled as phonatory break, creak, or frequency shift-and that of view of vocal fold obstruction and supraglottic compression. Additional fixed factors included in the regression model were group (AdLD, control), sex, and the interactions of group × obstruction and group × supraglottic compression. RESULTS: Factors that were significantly associated with the odds of an acoustic discontinuity included group, vocal fold obstruction, supraglottic compression, and the interaction of group × vocal fold obstruction. There was not a significant interaction effect of group on supraglottic compression events. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that acoustic discontinuities co-occur with supraglottic compression and vocal fold obstructions. Understanding this relationship may lead to more effective voice assessment methods for individuals with AdLD.

  PublisherDOI

• Comprehensive Review of Multilingual Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Dysphonia

  Journal of Voice · 2025-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• National trends in the utilization of office-based transnasal esophagoscopy

  American Journal of Otolaryngology · 2025-10-24

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  To analyze national trends in the prevalence of office-based transnasal esophagoscopy (TNE) procedures and compare with traditional operating room-based procedures utilizing transoral flexible and rigid esophagoscopy. From 2013 to 2022, the US Medicare Part B claims database was searched for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes 43,197/43198: diagnostic transnasal flexible esophagoscopy/with biopsy, 43200/43202: diagnostic transoral flexible esophagoscopy/with biopsy, 43191/43193: diagnostic rigid esophagoscopy/with biopsy. For each CPT code, the total number of charges billed to the Medicare database in each calendar year were recorded and analyzed using trendlines and linear regression. From 2013 to 2022, there was a significant decrease in the prevalence of transoral flexible esophagoscopy, both diagnostic (trendline slope = −1078, R 2 = 0.83) and with biopsy (trendline slope = −192, R 2 = 0.80). The prevalence of rigid esophagoscopy, both diagnostic and with biopsy, remained stable (trendline slope = −51, R 2 = 0.14; trendline slope = −9.6, R 2 = 0.26, respectively). Diagnostic TNE represented a small percentage of total diagnostic esophagoscopies performed (range: 9.37–14.94 %), and this percentage remained relatively constant over time (trendline slope = 0.0017, R 2 = 0.08). TNE with biopsy was a small percentage of total esophageal biopsy procedures (range: 6.54–10.66 %), with a slight increase over time as a percentage of all esophageal biopsies performed (trendline slope = 0.0037, R 2 = 0.48). Benefits of office-based TNE procedures include the avoidance of general anesthesia, shorter procedure times, and cost savings. However, TNE remains a small percentage of all esophagoscopies performed, without significant trends toward increased utilization. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the lack of utilization of these office-based procedures.

  PublisherDOI

• National trends in laryngeal biopsy: Comparison of operative vs. office-based procedures

  American Journal of Otolaryngology · 2025-05-14 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  To analyze national trends and prevalence of office-based endoscopy with laryngeal biopsy procedures as compared to traditional operative biopsy procedures utilizing direct laryngoscopy with and without microlaryngoscopy. The US Medicare Part B claims database was queried for Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes 31,576 (flexible laryngoscopy with biopsy), 31,535 (operative direct laryngoscopy with biopsy), and 31,536 (operative direct microlaryngoscopy with biopsy). From 2013 to 2022, the total number of charges billed to the Medicare database in each calendar year was recorded and annual trends were analyzed. The number of office-based flexible laryngoscopy biopsy procedures (CPT code 31576) remained relatively constant over the 10-year period of analysis (range: 551–852 , trendline slope = −21, R 2 = 0.51). Office-based flexible laryngoscopy biopsy procedures comprised a small portion of total laryngeal biopsies (range: 3.8 % - 4.8 %). The total number of operative direct laryngoscopy with biopsy, billed by CPT codes 31,535 and 31,536 experienced decline with time (Trendline slope = −310, R 2 = 0.89; Trendline slope = −254, R 2 = 0.85 respectively). Office-based laryngeal biopsy procedures comprise a small fraction of laryngeal biopsy procedures overall and prevalence has declined slightly over the last 10 years. This contrasts with prevailing healthcare trends towards less-invasive, office-based procedures. Further research is needed to determine the etiology of the overall decrease in operative direct laryngeal biopsies. 4

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Jessica R. Levi

  Boston University

  37 shared

• Cara E. Stepp

  University of Massachusetts Boston

  30 shared

• J. Pieter Noordzij

  25 shared

• James A. Burns

  Harvard University

  24 shared

• Jeremiah C. Tracy

  Tufts Medical Center

  20 shared

• Jarrad H. Van Stan

  Harvard University

  16 shared

• Nicolette Jabbour

  Boston Medical Center

  16 shared

• Daniel P. Buckley

  Boston Medical Center

  15 shared

Education

• MD

  Tufts Medical Center

• BS

  Tufts University