Dr. Michelle S. Troche is currently an Associate Professor and Program Director in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program, Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds adjunct positions in the Departments of Neurology and Otolaryngology. She directs the Laboratory for the Study of Upper Airway Dysfunction. Her research is focused on improving health outcomes and quality of life associated with disorders of airway protection (i.e., swallowing and cough) through a programmatic research agenda aimed at understanding the multiple behaviors contributing to airway protection, their disorders, and rehabilitation. She is a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and her clinical work has mainly been in the area of movement disorders. It is those experiences that have shaped her research interests and guided her work. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Michael J. Fox Foundation, CurePSP Foundation, and National Ataxia Foundation.