Core Faculty

Dr. Stephanie Watts is an Assistant Professor and Chief of Speech Pathology in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of South Florida. She earned an undergraduate degree in Speech Pathology at Florida State University and master’s degree in Speech Pathology at USF. Dr. Watts earned her doctoral degree at USF under the direction of Dr. Emily Plowman in 2017 and was promoted to faculty in Medicine. She currently conducts research and sees patients clinically at the USF Voice Center within Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. She is a funded researcher specializing in swallowing and voice and her research interests include esophageal physiology, cough neurophysiology, clinical evaluation of airway protective behaviors, and maximizing patient outcomes through multidisciplinary care.

Dr. Vicky Sanchez is a clinician-scientist in the Department of Otolaryngology. She provides clinical services and leads research studies in the Auditory Rehabilitation & Clinical Trials Laboratory (ARCT Lab). The ARCT Lab is both federally and industry funded, and is a collaborative multi-investigator interprofessional lab. Vicky's research areas of interest are speech perception, auditory rehabilitation, evidence-based practice, and the effects of various disorders and interventions on the auditory and vestibular systems. Vicky's current projects include developing and evaluating novel approaches to treat acquired forms of hearing loss by taking a translational pathway from bench to bedside. Vicky has a strong background in clinical trial administration and sponsored research coordination, in addition to her clinical and research expertise in audiology.

Dr. Yael Bensoussan is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and a fellowship-trained laryngologist with advanced expertise in voice, swallowing and upper airway evaluation and treatment. She is also an avid proponent of multidisciplinary care and has led multiple patient-education initiatives around tracheostomy care.

Prior to joining USF Health, she completed her medical school at the University of Montreal and her surgical residency training at the University of Toronto, Canada. She subsequently completed a fellowship in Laryngology (voice, airway and swallowing disorders) at the University of Southern California. Dr. Bensoussan's background also includes a degree in Speech Pathology and a prior career in music, which has led her to her passion for the voice and for laryngeal disorders.

While completing her clinical fellowship, she also obtained her Master of Science (MSc) in System Leadership and Innovations and the Institute of Health Policy, Evaluation and Management at the University of Toronto, Canada, where she worked on applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the laryngology field. She is developing an expertise in integration of AI to the field of voice research and is involved in many projects of healthcare digitization and data-driven care. Passionate about optimization of health systems efficiency and algorithms of care, she is building bridges with multiple partners to integrate technology to optimize the quality of care provided to her patients.

Dr. Bensoussan has served on the Voice Committee of the American Laryngological Association (ALA), and was awarded the Young Faculty/ Practitioner Award of the ALA in 2021 for her research work on AI and gender-affirming voice care.

Dr. Jamie Toghranegar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and Lead of Digital Health and Simulation at the Institute for Voice and Hearing Innovation. She is also the program manager for the NIH-funded Bridge2AI-Voice initiative. Dr. Toghranegar’s work centers on advancing innovation at the intersection of simulation development, digital health technology, and artificial intelligence to transform communication health and clinical outcomes, and create impactful educational experiences for fellows and trainees.

Dr. Toghranegar has a Doctorate of Speech-Language Pathology from Northwestern University and is currently a Master's of Science in Artificial Intelligence candidate in the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Computing. She holds a Master's of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Florida Atlantic University and a Bachelor's of Fine Arts from the University of Florida. 

At USF, Dr. Toghranegar leads multiple funded research initiatives including:

• Development and validation testing of the ADEPT simulator, a novel FEES simulation designed for integration into digital learning environments, funded by an Early Stage Innovation Award from the Florida High Tech Corridor 
• Exploration of acoustic biomarkers associated with stroke risk, to improve dynamic stroke risk monitoring following TIA, funded by a USF New Researcher Award
• Research into the use of GPT models for improving the current state of aphasia therapy, supported by an OpenAI Researcher Access Award

She also is collaborating with Dr. Begum Mathyk to study the effects of microgravity on the voice, laying the groundwork for understanding how voice biomarkers can be developed into novel precision health tools within space medicine.

With a strong track record of leadership, Dr. Toghranegar has organized several Voice AI Symposia and hackathons, which have positioned Bridge2AI-Voice as an international leader in voice AI for health, within both academic and industry sectors. She served as Co-Director for USF’s first Voice AI Summer School, a first-of-its-kind educational program bringing together medical and computer science students to advance voice-based AI research. Dr. Toghranegar is also the co-inventor of a novel simulation trainer for teaching speech-language pathologists to perform trans-nasal endoscopic swallowing exams (FEES), which is currently patent pending.

Through innovation and thoughtful design, Dr. Toghranegar seeks to reimagine educational experiences and clinical care at IVHI, by creating digital health technologies that are not only rigorous and effective but also deeply meaningful and impactful.

Recent Publications

Anibal, J., Doctor, R., Boyer, M., Newberry, K., De Santiago, I., Awan, S., Abdel-Aty, Y., Dion, G., Daoud, V., Huth, H., Watts, S., Wood, B. J., Clifton, D., Gelbard, A., Powell, M., Toghranegar, J., & Bensoussan, Y. (2025). Transformers for rapid detection of airway stenosis and stridor. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 15394. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99369-y

Bahr, R., Anibal, J., Bedrick, S., Bélisle-Pipon, J.-C., Bensoussan, Y., Blaylock, N., Castermans, J., Comito, K., Dorr, D., Hale, G., Jackson, C., Krussel, A., Kuman, K., Raj Komarlu, A., Lerner-Ellis, J., Powell, M. E., Ravitsky, V., Rameau, A., Reavis, C., … Toghranegar, J. (2024). Workshop Summaries from the 2024 Voice ArtificiaI Intelligence Symposium, presented by the Bridge2AI-Voice Consortium. Frontiers in Digital Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1484818

Bensoussan, Y. E., Evangelista, E. G., Doctor, R. J., Mathyk, B. A., Bevec, K. L., Toghranegar, J. A., & Patel, R. (2024). Menopause and the voice: A narrative review of physiological changes, hormone therapy effects, and treatment options. Menopause, 10.1097/GME.0000000000002636. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002636

Patel, R., Price, N., Bahr, R., Bedrick, S., Bensoussan, Y., Bélisle-Pipon, J.-C., Dorr, D., Jackson, C., Krussel, A., Salvi Cruz, S., Toghranegar, J., Watts, S., Zhao, R., The Bridge2AI-Voice Consortium, Powell, M., Bensoussan, Y., Elemento, O., Rameau, A., Sigaras, A., … Goldenberg, A. (2024). Summary of Keynote Speeches from the 2024 Voice AI Symposium, presented by the Bridge2AI-Voice Consortium. Frontiers in Digital Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1484503