Local 12 News: Developing an app could help transgender people struggling with their voices
UC faculty member’s research looks to assist gender diverse and transgender individuals
Vesna Dominika Novak, PhD, associate professor in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, spoke with Local 12 News about her research now available in the Journal of Voice. It shows the results of a 57-question survey of 21 transgender and gender diverse individuals focusing on voice, technology app usage, surgery, training and gender expression and identity. Transgender and gender diverse people may benefit from better-designed smartphone apps which offer voice and communication training software that help lessen voice-gender incongruence for individuals.
Novak told Local 12 News that for some individuals the motivation to change their voice is an internal desire. “They say, ‘Oh I don’t like the way I sound, I want to change it.’ And some people it is external and they say, ‘I don’t care how I sound but other people judge me for the way I sound so I want to change this.’”
Listen to the interview on Local 12 News online.
Learn more about research from Vesna Novak, PhD, online.
Featured image is courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
How aerospace is turning to trustworthy AI
January 6, 2026
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science graduate Lynn Pickering talks to the Ohio Federal Research Network about her research into artificial intelligence and the future of AI in aerospace engineering.
UC's art collection on display at the Contemporary Arts Center
January 5, 2026
University of Cincinnati leaders joined WVXU's Cincinnati Edition to talk about the university’s 200-year-old art collection, a new exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center and the release of a companion book exploring the collection’s role in education and public engagement.
UC faculty and staff among Rising Star leadership honorees
January 5, 2026
Two UC faculty and staff members are among this year's Rising Star leadership program sponsored by YWCA Greater Cincinnati. Kelli Beecher, assistant professor in the UC College of Nursing, and Brittany Bibb, assistant director of programs and operations in the UC Division of Student Affairs, are among the emerging leaders of 2026. They were featured in the publication Movers & Makers.