WVXU: Transgender and gender diverse people can struggle to sound like themselves. An app aims to help
UC professor discusses her latest research on smartphone apps
Vesna D. Novak, PhD, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC, spoke with 91.7 WVXU for a news broadcast about her latest research on transgender and gender diverse communities.
Novak coauthored a study which suggests that transgender and gender diverse people may benefit from better-designed smartphone apps that offer voice and communication training software that help lessen voice-gender incongruence for transgender individuals. The study is available in the Journal of Voice and includes the results of a 57-question survey and interviews of 21 transgender and gender diverse individuals focusing on voice, technology app usage, surgery, voice training and gender expression and identity.
Tristan Vaught, an adjunct faculty member in the UC Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, also spoke with WVXU about use of smartphone apps among transgender and gender diverse communities.
Listen to the full WVXU interview online.
Learn more about Novak’s latest research online.
Featured image is courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.