Dr. Lazarus is the Research Director of the THANC Functional Outcomes Research Center. She is also a speech pathologist within the THANC Foundation, providing clinical care to treated head and neck cancer patients. She is also a member of the International Head and Neck research Network (HNRN), of which THANC is the only participating United States site. She collaborates with Dr. Urken as well as other members of the multidisciplinary Continuum Cancer Center team in conducting research on outcomes in treated head and neck cancer patients.
Dr. Lazarus received her BA, MS and PhD from Northwestern University. Her research focuses on swallowing, voice, speech and quality of life in treated head and neck cancer patients. She recently collaborated as Co-Investigator on a multi-center NIH (NCI) clinical trial examining the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on swallowing and quality of life in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy and surgery. She was also the PI on an NIH clinical trial examining the effects of two tongue exercise programs on tongue strength, swallowing and quality of life in patients treated with chemoradiotherapy. She is currently Past-President of the International Dysphagia Research Society. Dr. Lazarus received her Board Certification in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. She is an ASHA Fellow.
