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Highlights

• Hamzeh Ghasemzadeh, assistant professor in UCF鈥檚 College of Health Professions and Sciences, is tackling mysteries in communication disorders, starting with vocal fatigue.

• Childhood curiosity about taking things apart now drives his NIH-funded voice research.

• Using AI and wearable sensors, he鈥檚 developing tailored strategies to protect and strengthen voices.

To better understand Assistant Professor Hamzeh Ghasemzadeh and his work, he goes back to a childhood memory of broken toys. Within hours of receiving little robotic figures or remote-control cars, he鈥檇 dissembled what had once been a carefully crafted package of technology. To him, sitting among the remnants of a new gift meant he was sitting in a circle of fun.

鈥淢y favorite game was to take the toys apart to see how they work and then try to put them back together,鈥� Ghasemzadeh says. 鈥淢y parents saw my curiosity as a great thing.鈥�

“This is why I came to UCF. I鈥檝e been able to jump right in and address mysteries that haven鈥檛 received much attention.”

That same curiosity now drives his research at , where he seeks to take apart discomforted voices, figuratively, so he can develop strategies to make each one whole again. Ghasemzadeh, who joined UCF in late Summer 2025 and will teach in the school鈥檚 newly launched , has already secured one research project funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is developing another.

鈥淭his is why I came to UCF,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to jump right in and address mysteries that haven鈥檛 received much attention until now.鈥�

A Common Problem Without Clear Answers

The first such mystery sounds quite straightforward: vocal fatigue, a common vocal complaint. Beneath the surface, however, it鈥檚 deceptive. Solutions have mostly evaded scientists, leaving vocal fatigue as an ongoing problem for many people who rely on their voices, like coaches, public speakers, singers and teachers. Many of Ghasemzadeh鈥檚 colleagues experience the very throat discomfort that he鈥檚 deconstructing during the funded project just underway.

“We want to collect … multi-modal data and use machine learning models to analyze [vocal fatigue] and develop recommendations for each person.”

鈥淪ome instructors get vocal fatigue quickly, some get it slowly and some don鈥檛 get it at all,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a genetic component, but there are also behavioral components. How do they use their voice? How often do they use it? What about the environment where they鈥檙e using it? What about personality? We want to collect such comprehensive multi-modal data and use machine learning models to analyze it and develop recommendations for each person.鈥�

The recommendations might include pacing voice usage, projecting the voice efficiently and allowing the voice to recover. Ghasemzadeh envisions this model being predictive and 鈥� this is the part he stresses most 鈥� personalized.

鈥淭he approach to general medicine started with an assumption that while we鈥檙e different on the outside, we are very similar inside. Patients with similar ailments took the same medications and [the] same dosages. But we now know that people don鈥檛 always respond to pills the same way. If we can quantify how we鈥檙e different inside, we can create a computational model to predict responses to medications and optimize treatment plans.鈥�

To integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into vocal fatigue solutions, subjects in Ghasemzadeh鈥檚 study will wear sensors that track how and where they use their voices. He鈥檒l prompt them to perform specific vocal tasks and monitor their phonatory function throughout the day. The AI model will analyze these patterns in real time to identify early signs of vocal strain and predict when fatigue is likely to occur.

“We are different. Every prescribed solution should be different, too.”

Participants will also visit his lab at the in Central Florida Research Park, where specialists will collect imaging, aerodynamic and acoustic data. The highly equipped facility brings together America鈥檚 leading hearing and voice scientists to develop new technologies and clinical tools for people with hearing loss or voice disorders.

With all of that in hand, including the technology, Ghasemzadeh and his team hope to unwind the mystery of vocal fatigue 鈥� one person at a time.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the idea I want to put forward with every project,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e are different. Every prescribed solution should be different, too.鈥�

From Engineering to Human Connection

Many would think a toy-reassembling boy is destined to become an engineer. That鈥檚 what Ghasemzadeh thought, too. He earned bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in electrical engineering and began his career with a focus on telecommunications and signal processing.

鈥淭here was something important missing,鈥� he says. 鈥淗uman connection.鈥�

“Speech became my research interest because … it sets us apart as a species and as individuals.”

He crossed paths with a close friend who mentioned his own research in a field Ghasemzadeh was vaguely familiar with: communication sciences and disorders. The conversation sparked Ghasemzadeh’s enthusiasm for applying his expertise in areas such as signal processing to personally help others.

鈥淪peech became my research interest because it鈥檚 the signal we predominantly use to communicate,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t sets us apart as a species and as individuals.鈥�

For example, it鈥檚 quite easy to identify Ghasemzadeh without even seeing him. He sounds young yet intelligent enough to have dual doctoral degrees. There鈥檚 an inflection of humility in his voice. The curiosity is always there, too. In fact, his peers have noticed, from his work, what his parents noticed among his broken toys: his curiosity leading to great things. Shortly after arriving at UCF, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association chose Ghasemzadeh for its Early Career Contributions in Research Award.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also a reminder that I鈥檓 early in my career,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd the sky is the limit.鈥�

At the center of his work as a principal investigator is a belief that progress doesn鈥檛 happen alone, but through teamwork.

鈥淵ou have to surround yourself with different skillsets, all of us willing to take things apart that have never been taken apart, with everyone focused on one goal,鈥� Ghasemzadeh says. 鈥淲hen you win, I win and everyone wins.鈥�

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health under award number R00DC021235. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.