Alicia K Vose, Ph.D.

Alicia K. Vose, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. She completed her doctorate in rehabilitation science at the University of Florida, where she investigated the role of kinematic biofeedback in dysphagia management and physiological mechanisms underlying normal and disordered airway protection. In her postdoctoral training, Dr. Vose focused on the development of novel rehabilitation strategies for impairments in breathing and swallowing. Currently, she is investigating the effects of acute intermittent hypoxia and respiratory strength training to enhance breathing and swallowing in people with chronic spinal cord injury as well as the effects of diaphragm stimulation on respiratory neural drive and function.

Dr. Alicia Vose is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, FL, and an investigator in the Breathing Research and Therapeutics (BREATHE) Center. Dr. Vose earned her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at The George Washington University and spent six years as a clinician in acute care and ICU settings at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Driven by a strong desire to improve therapeutic efficacy and rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with eating, drinking, and swallowing disorders, in 2019, she completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Florida, as an NIH T-32 Pre-Doctoral Fellow in the BREATHE Training Program, she gained specialized training in swallowing neurophysiology, upper airway dysfunction and neurorehabilitation.

In 2023, Dr. Vose completed a postdoctoral fellowship in respiratory physiology and neuroplasticity while working within a translational science collaboration between the University of Florida and Brooks Rehabilitation under the mentorship of Dr. Gordon Mitchell (basic neuroscientist) and Dr. Emily Fox (clinical scientist). Here, she tested strategies that enhance synpatic plasticity, including the use of acute intermittent hypoxia, a promising strategy used to improve motor output and rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with chronic neurologic injuries.

Now a faculty member in the Department of Neurology at the University of Florida, Dr. Vose leads a research program focused on improving motor recovery and rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with upper airway/laryngeal dysfunction after neurologic injury. Specifically, her lab investigates the mechanisms of airway protection—encompassing swallowing, cough, and breathing function in populations affected by spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury, among others. With over a decade of clinical experience diagnosing and managing swallowing disorders and upper airway dysfunction following neurologic injury, Dr. Vose is committed to developing innovative rehabilitation strategies that promote functional recovery, enhance survivorship, and improve quality of life.

Research interests include: Mechanisms Underlying Normal and Disordered Airway Protection; Swallowing and Respiratory Neuroplasticity; Acute Intermittent Hypoxia.

• Neuroplasticity
• Rehabilitation
• Spinal cord injury rehabilitation
• Stroke recovery
• Swallowing dysfunction associated with stroke
• dysphagia