Chaya Guntupalli

Dr. Chaya Guntupalli (Nanjundeswaran) is a Professor of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), affiliated with the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Speech Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh (2013), specializing in voice science and metabolic mechanisms of vocal fatigue. Her research focuses on vocal fatigue heterogeneity, developing the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI), and integrating exercise physiology principles for voice disorder treatment. She has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Research Award (2022) and Journal of Voice Best Paper Awards (2017, 2015). Her work has been funded by NIH-NIDCD grants, totaling over $400,000.

Education includes a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh (2013), M.S. and B.S. in Speech and Hearing from the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (2003, 2001). She has held academic positions at ETSU since 2010, progressing from Assistant to Professor. Her teaching spans anatomy, speech science, voice disorders, and research methods. She advises numerous graduate and undergraduate students, mentoring projects on voice perception, vocal hygiene, and glottal fry analysis.

Key contributions include cross-cultural validation of the VFI in multiple languages and pioneering cardiovascular conditioning as a vocal fatigue intervention. She collaborates with institutions globally, including the University of Memphis and All India Institute of Speech and Hearing. Her outreach includes workshops on voice care for educators and musicians, emphasizing occupational voice health. Current research explores metabolic profiles of voice types and listener attitudes toward vocal deviations like glottal fry.