UC app helps people make voices more masculine, feminine
UC professor talks to the Cincinnati Enquirer about new voice-coaching app
The Cincinnati Enquirer highlighted a new voice-coaching app developed by an electrical engineering professor who studies intelligent technologies to improve human health and wellness.
Associate Professor Vesna Novak in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science created the TruVox app to help users, particularly transgender people, speak in a more masculine or feminine way to match their gender expression.
Vesna Novak. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
The app helps people visualize aspects of voice such as pitch and volume in real time. The app is free and open to the public.
She will present the app at the 26th annual International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction this month.
Novak interviewed 20 transgender people to learn more about what they would like or dislike in a voice-coaching app. She also worked with experts on communication disorders, speech-language pathologists and a psychologist to develop the voice exercises in the app.
Unlike online tutorials, the app provides real-time feedback, so users can see the adjustments in their voice as they talk.
Read the Cincinnati Enquirer story.
Featured image at top: UC Associate Professor Vesna Novak developed a new app to help people match their voice to their gender expression. Photo/iStockPhoto
Try the TruVox app
Try Vesna Novak's TruVox app.
Related Stories
How can Cincinnati provide more affordable housing? This new lab aims to find out
October 16, 2026
The University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center helped launch a new regional research and development initiative designed to identify, test and scale solutions to the region’s housing challenges called the Housing Innovation Lab. The project is built around a simple idea: What if communities approached housing challenges the way leading companies approach innovation?
Environmental engineer researching methods to monitor river quality
October 16, 2026
Pradeep Ramtel has been conducting research on river water since he was an undergraduate student in Nepal. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Cincinnati and is studying under Associate Professor Dongmei Feng. His research uses collected data and machine learning to better assess risks to river water quality and prepare for problems before they arise. Recently, he was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Collaboration over consultation
October 16, 2026
New University of Cincinnati research published in the journal Health Expectations found stroke survivors participating in rehab research desire an approach that prioritizes shared decision-making, peer relationships and a focus on what they can accomplish rather than their deficits.