Cynthia Kelm-Nelson, PhD

Research Interests

Dr. Cynthia Kelm-Nelson’s long-term research goal is to understand the mechanisms that modulate vocal behavior in both health and disease. Her NIH-funded work utilizes a true systems biology approach, encompassing behavioral, genomic, and proteomic analyses to model brain-vocal behavior relationships. Her most current NIH-funded research is focused on defining the following gaps in knowledge: (1) the neuroanatomical tracing of the biochemistry of vocalization pathways, (2) the alterations in gene expression within the brain, vocal fold muscle, and blood that result in characteristic gene expression signatures that may constitute early Parkinson disease biomarkers, and (3) the identification and repurposing of FDA approved drugs that have therapeutic effects for vocal communication deficits. The results of this research will ultimately lead to an increased understanding of the onset of behavioral phenotypes, sex differences, neuropathology, and substrates of vocal communication deficits in Parkinson disease, as well as new targeted drug treatment options.