Sonja M. Molfenter, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine

Keywords
dysphagia, swallowing
Summary

Sonja Molfenter, PhD, is a clinically trained speech–language pathologist whose research specializes in understanding the physiological features of both normal swallowing and disordered swallowing, known as dysphagia. Swallowing function is commonly disrupted after many conditions including stroke, brain injury, head and neck cancer, and spinal cord injury.

Dr. Molfenter’s overarching research goal is to produce clinically relevant research to inform frontline clinical practice. Her research focuses on naturally occurring muscle loss in the pharynx as the result of aging. Dr. Molfenter's work aims to understand the impact of these age-related changes on swallowing function and explore methods to prevent or reverse these changes.

Phone

212-992-7694

Academic office

Comm Sciences & Disorders, 665 Broadway

Room 928

New York, NY 10012

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Positions

Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Associate Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Graduate Education

PhD from University of Toronto

A SINGLE CENTER PILOT STUDY ESTABLISHING TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF SWALLOWING PRESSURES COLLECTED WITH HIGH RESOLUTION PHARYNGEAL MANOMETRY (HRPM)

A single-center randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy of pharyngeal swallowing exercises (with or without protein supplementation) to build pharyngeal muscular reserve in pre-frail older adults

Swallowing Disruptions after ACDF Surgery: The Novel Use of Acoustic Pharyngometry to Monitor Pharyngeal Edema

A SINGLE-CENTER OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF TREMOR AFFECTING THE VOICE ON DEGLUTITION

See All Studies (4)

The Influence of Perspective on Perception: Assessing Residue Across Planes of Videofluoroscopy

Jones-Rastelli, R Brynn; Crossman, Claire; Price, D'manda; Stal, Frederick; Molfenter, Sonja

Laryngoscope. 2025 Apr; 135(4):1352-1358

The Efficacy of Outpatient Swallowing Therapy: A Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Study

Crosby, Tyler W; Molfenter, Sonja; Balou, Matina; Ezeh, Uche C; Amin, Milan R

Dysphagia. 2025 Mar 28;

Assessing Public Awareness and Understanding of Dysphagia: A Representative Survey of US Adults

Molfenter, Sonja M; Jones-Rastelli, R Brynn; Barfield, Arie; Cooks, Drew; Crossman, Claire; Jackson, Kaiyn; Price, D'manda; Robinson, Journee C; Johnson, Aaron M

Dysphagia. 2025 Mar 27;

The Impact of Vocal Tremor on Deglutition: A Pilot Study

Gartling, Gary; Balou, Matina; Amin, Milan; Molfenter, Sonja; Jones-Rastelli, Brynn; Ezeh, Uche C; Achlatis, Stratos; Johnson, Aaron; Gherson, Shirley; Chiappetta, Natalie; Barkmeier-Kraemer, Julie; Branski, Ryan C

Laryngoscope. 2024 Nov; 134(11):4599-4603

Anterior-Posterior View Acquisition During Videofluoroscopy: A Survey Study Exploring Influential Factors on Speech-Language Pathologists' Practice Patterns

Jones-Rastelli, R Brynn; Tang, Xi; Harel, Daphna; Molfenter, Sonja M

Journal of speech, language, & hearing research. 2024 Oct 30; 1-23

Alterations in Swallowing Six Weeks After Primary Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF)

Jones-Rastelli, R Brynn; Amin, Milan R; Balou, Matina; Herzberg, Erica G; Molfenter, Sonja

Dysphagia. 2024 Aug; 39(4):684-696

Radiographic Magnification on Videofluoroscopy: An Important Variable to Consider for Scaled Analyses of Swallowing

Molfenter, Sonja M; Jones-Rastelli, Rebecca Brynn; Balou, Matina

Journal of speech, language, & hearing research. 2023 Oct 27; 1-6

A scoping review of the methods used to capture dysphagia after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: the need for a paradigm shift

Molfenter, Sonja M; Amin, Milan R; Balou, Matina; Herzberg, Erica G; Frempong-Boadu, Anthony

European spine journal. 2023 Mar; 32(3):969-976

See All Publications (65)