According to Marianna Rubino, an assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders in Oxley College of Health & Natural Sciences, one in 13 adults in the United States experiences a voice disorder. These include hoarseness, vocal fatigue and voice loss, and they can be especially troubling for people who rely on vocalization for their work, including attorneys, teachers, actors and singers.
Vocal disorders arise from anatomical and physiological causes as well as psychological factors. For Rubino, who joined The University of Tulsa in fall 2025, it is the intersection of voice and psychology that fascinates her the most. “My research aims to understand how personality and identity impact how we use our voices, the development of voice disorders and client success in voice therapy,” she explained. To study this topic, Rubino deploys surveys, acoustic measurements and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
From theater to classroom
Rubino traces her interest in vocal disorders to her previous acting career and training. After completing a bachelor’s in English at the College of Holy Cross, Rubino moved to Chicago where, for the next five years, she performed long-form improv comedy at Second City and other acting gigs. Toward the end of that period, she was cast as Anne Deaver in Arthur Miller’s controversial and award-winning drama “All My Sons.”
“It’s a perfect play, but throughout the experience I felt that my acting skills were limited,” Rubino recalled. “I wanted to learn how to deepen my characterizations, so I took some acting courses around Chicago and, ultimately, took the plunge and enrolled in the University of Houston’s professional actor training M.F.A. program.”
After completing her studies in Texas, Rubino interned at Milwaukee Repertory Theater for nine months and took a shot at life in the country’s theater capital, New York City. “That was an amazing time,” she said. “I went on lots of auditions, acted in commercials and took a variety of parts in Shakespearean plays – in addition to balancing my checkbook with a slew of day jobs. During my NYC years, I was everything from a cater-waiter and receptionist to a coat-check person and administrative assistant!”
Looking back on her master’s experience, Rubino notes a persistent curiosity about the exercises her professors and fellow students used to develop their voices and why some people succeeded in the effort while others could not gain traction. Casting about for some way to combine her interest in vocology – the study of voice – with a (more) stable career, Rubino landed on speech-language pathology, an occupation the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes is projected to grow 15% from 2024 to 2034 – much faster than the average for other occupations.
Soon after completing her doctorate in communication sciences and disorders at the University of Delaware, Rubino joined UTulsa’s Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders. Currently, she is teaching courses in motor speech disorders and dysphagia. “I particularly enjoy these courses because of their complexity and relation to neurology,” she said. Looking ahead to spring 2026, Rubino is excited to launch a new course she has designed on voice disorders, which will directly draw on her research.
And while she currently is not walking the theatrical boards, Rubino asserts that “acting is an essential part of me; I could never completely shake it. Next year, I hope to get involved in Tulsa’s theater scene. For now, in the classroom, I enjoy using my acting skills both to project my voice safely and model, for my students, the various voices and vocal qualities they will likely encounter in their own patients.”
Find your voice
UTulsa’s Oxley College of Health & Natural Sciences is home to an array of departments and programs that enable students to tap into personal interests and develop meaningful careers.