The Emory Voice Center is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders and voice problems, offering the latest innovations in voice therapies and effective management options for all conditions that affect the voice.
We serve laryngeal conditions of all types, including problems that affect the voice, swallowing, and airway.
The Emory Voice Center was founded in 2003 with just two clinicians and has since expanded to include three fellowship trained laryngologists, six specialized speech-language pathologists, and one registered nurse. In 2009, Dr. Michael Johns and Dr. Adam M. Klein saw more than 3,200 patients and performed approximately 5000 surgeries. At The Emory Voice Center, we use a multidisciplinary approach to treating voice disorders. This means a variety of practitioners are all available under one roof, so our patients can get comprehensive voice care in one place.
We are dedicated to offering our patients the latest in voice treatment technology. Emory is one of only a few centers across the country, and the only center in the Southeast, that uses a cutting-edge new laser treatment to correct vocal disorders. Pulsed KTP laser treatment can correct problems of the vocal cords with minimal risk to the patient’s voice.
The Emory Voice Center lab is actively involved in research to better understand and treat voice disorders and voice problems. Current research includes:
- Novel treatments for the aging voice
- Outcomes of treatment for neurolaryngeal disease
- Slow-release drug delivery systems for use in the larynx
- Novel laryngeal pacing systems to restore vocal fold motion
- Development of laryngeal surgical trainer
- Voice treatment adherence
- The benefits of early detection and tobacco cessation education to an at-risk population
- Novel treatments in voice therapy
Locations & Directions to The Emory Voice Center
The Emory Voice Center is located in the Medical Office Tower at Emory University Hospital Midtown, on the 9th floor. This facility is equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment in a pleasant, comfortable environment. Our office is conveniently located in Midtown Atlanta, easily accessible from the Downtown Connector (I-85/75) and all Atlanta’s major interstate systems. We are just one block from the North Avenue MARTA station, Atlanta’s mass transportation train system. Click here for map and directions. The Emory Voice Center Emory University Hospital Midtown Medical Office Tower, 9th Floor 550 Peachtree Street Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Tel: 404-686-1850
Physicians and Staff
The Emory Voice Center’s multidisciplinary staff is dedicated to the compassionate care of all patients with voice disorders. We also serve the special needs of vocal professionals.
Michael M. Johns III, MD Director, The The Emory Voice Center Associate Professor, Emory University Department of Otolaryngology Dr. Johns is a graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Michigan, where he also trained as a research fellow through the National Institutes of Health program. He then pursued a fellowship in laryngology and care of the professional voice at the Vanderbilt Voice Center of Vanderbuilt University. Dr. Johns was awarded the highest honors during his academic career, including membership in Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. He is a member of the Academy of Otolaryngology and the Voice Foundation and is involved in continuing research in his field, including a special interest in vocal fold paralysis and motion impairment.
Adam M. Klein, MD Laryngolgist, The The Emory Voice Center Assistant Professor, Emory University Department of Otolaryngology Dr. Klein is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. After completing his residency in otolaryngology at the University of Connecticut Health Center, he went on to do a fellowship to subspecialize in laryngology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, under the direction of Dr. Steven Zeitels. He is board-certified with the American Board of Otolaryngology and is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Klein’s clinical specialties include general otolaryngology, laryngeal disorders and the professional voice. His research interests include imaging of the human vocal folds using enhanced laryngeal imaging tools.
Melissa Statham, MD Laryngologist, The Emory Voice Center Dr. Statham is a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati. She pursued two fellowships following residency. One was in laryngology and care of the professional voice at the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center and the other was in pediatric otolaryngology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Statham has expertise in treating pediatric and adult voice conditions and airway disorders. Her research interests focus on novel laryngeal electromyography techniques and outcomes from pediatric and adult major airway surgery.
Edie Hapner, PhD, CCC-SLP Director of Speech-Language Pathology, The Emory Voice Center Assistant Professor, Emory University Department of Otolaryngology Dr. Hapner is a licensed speech-language pathologist and completed her doctoral work at Vanderbilt University in Speech and Hearing Science. She has over 25 years of experience in clinical work as a speech-language pathologist specializing in voice disorders. Her research interests include applying the principles of evidence-based medicine to the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders, facilitating adherence to therapy, and the use of virtual reality in the comprehensive treatment of voice. Dr Hapner is a Scientific Fellow in the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and was appointed to the Clinical Scholars program through AAOHNS for 2005-2006. She is a steering committee member for the Voice and Voice Disorders Special Interest Division.
Marina Gilman, MM, MA, SLP Ms. Gilman is a licensed speech-language pathologist with voice specialization, voice and speech teacher and a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. Ms. Gilman has worked as the speech pathology voice specialist at the Bastian Voice Institute, Loyola University Voice Institute and as a singing voice consultant working primarily with singers, actors and other voice professionals for the University of Chicago Voice Center. Ms. Gilman offers techniques for effective voice therapy and on the application of the Feldenkrais Method for singers and voice professionals. Prior to earning her master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology, Ms. Gilman was the coordinator and principal teacher in the Vocal Coaching Program at Cornell University and Chair of the Voice Department at Syracuse University.
Carissa Maira, MS, CCC-SLP Ms. Maira is a licensed speech-language pathologist who was the first Emory Voice Center Clinical Fellow in Voice and Swallowing (2004-2005). She returned to the Emory Voice Center in 2010 after working as a voice specialist at the Evelyn Trammell Voice & Swallowing Center in Atlanta, GA. Her clinical and research interests include adherence to voice therapy and the psychosocial ramifications of voice disorders. She has presented at national and international conferences and has published several papers on the topic of adherence in professional journals. Ms. Maira completed her Master of Science degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a focus in voice disorders.
Meryl Kaufman MEd, CCC-SLP Dysphagia/Head and Neck Cancer Specialist Ms. Kaufman is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist with over 14 years’ experience in swallowing disorders and head and neck cancer. She has worked within the departments of Otolaryngology at the Medical College of Georgia, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Ms. Kaufman held an adjunct faculty appointment in the College of Health Professions at the Medical University of South Carolina. She served as Clinical Supervisor and instructor at Georgia State University. Ms. Kaufman is currently president of the Georgia Chapter of the Yul Brynner Foundation/Alliance for Head and Neck Cancer.
Beth Seelinger MS, CCC-SLP Dysphagia/Head and Neck Cancer Specialist Ms. Seelinger is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist with over 8 years’ experience in swallowing disorders and head and neck cancer. She has worked within the departments of Otolaryngology at WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, NC as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Seelinger held an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Communication Disorders at North Carolina State University.
Kelly D. Carr, RN Clinical Nurse Manager Ms. Carr is a CNOR-certified Clinical Nurse Manager and the Senior Manager of Clinical and Business Operations of Emory Voice Center and Emory Sinus, Nasal and Allergy Center. Ms. Carr has 19 years of nursing experience and 10 years’ experience in the operating room with emphasis in ENT, plastics and vascular surgery. Ms. Carr was instrumental in the development of the Allergy Program for Emory. She is an AORN member and the president of Atlanta Head and Neck Cancer Coalition, Inc.
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