JoAnne Robbins is an American authority on

dysphagia Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under " symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, in some contexts it is classified as a condition in its own right. It may be a sensation that suggests difficulty in the passage of solids or l ...

and

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...

, and is professor of medicine at the

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH) is a professional school for the study of medicine and public health at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It is one of only two medical schools in Wisconsin, along wit ...

. For more than three decades she has been a leading researcher in the field of swallowing abnormalities. Her work has uncovered correlations among elderly populations who are at increased risk for pneumonia, choking and other serious medical conditions as a result of dysphagia. Using grants from

N.I.H. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

and the

Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

, Robbins developed a

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

designed to help people afflicted with swallowing disorders.

Education

Robbins earned a B.A. degree from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

in 1972, an M.S. degree from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1973, and a Ph.D. from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1981. She completed a

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

fellowship program through

NIH The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

’s National Research Service Award. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing (BCS-S) and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence for Speech-Language Pathologists (CCC-SLP). She has published dozens of research papers involving dysphagia and holds several patents.

Career

Robbins holds teaching positions at the

and serves as associate director of research at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. She has conducted extensive studies on aging. Although motor exercises have been used widely as a treatment for speech problems for many decades, Robbins applied strengthening therapy to swallowing rehabilitation. In 2012, she began a clinical demonstration project which sought to improve swallowing and eating-related care for dysphagic veterans. In 2013, Robbins introduced a new medical device to provide

isometric exercise An isometric exercise is an exercise involving the static contraction of a muscle without any visible movement in the angle of the joint. The term "isometric" combines the Greek words ''isos'' (equal) and ''-metria'' (measuring), meaning that i ...

s for treating patients with dysphagia. The product, sold through a company called Swallow Solutions, is an oral mouthpiece which uses sensors to measure pressure at five locations on the tongue. She frequently speaks via Internet trade portals and at conferences around the United States. She is coauthor of a culinary book targeted for those who have difficulty swallowing. First published in 2002, the book is titled, ''The Easy-to-Swallow, Easy-to-Chew Cookbook''.

Boards, community service

Robbins serves on the board of the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

’s Stroke Council. She is a past president of the Dysphagia Research Society, and has served on the editorial boards of the ''American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology'', ''Dysphagia Journal'' and the ''Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology''.

References

External links

U.W. School of Medicine and Public Health biography

Swallow Solutions website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, JoAnne Living people University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Temple University alumni Northwestern University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Speech and language pathologists Year of birth missing (living people)