Staff

Liza Blumenfeld

Liza Blumenfeld, MA, CCC-SLP, BRS-S

Liza is an expert in dysphagia management. She has practiced as a medical speech- language pathologist since 1996. Currently, she serves as Director of Speech-Language Pathology for Head and Neck Surgery’s Center for Voice and Swallowing at UC San Diego Health.  She is also Co-Director of Head and Neck Cancer at the Moores Cancer Center.   She has authored two publications exploring efficacy of e-stim and the validity of blue dye dysphagia assessment. Her special interests include FEES, HRV biofeedback, and tracheostomy management. She is passionate about educating her peers in the effective use of endoscopy for improved patient outcomes.
Contact: liza@endo-education.com

Erin Walsh, MA, CCC-SLP, IBCLC

Erin has worked exclusively in professional voice rehabilitation since 2005. She holds an undergraduate degree in vocal performance and has sung professionally. As a voice pathologist, Erin enjoys developing creative and efficient therapeutic techniques that lend to rapid recoveries. She lectures throughout the community about vocal health and collaborates with university music faculty to prevent laryngeal injuries. Erin is a senior speech-language pathologist at UC San Diego Head and Neck Surgery’s Center for Voice and Swallowing.  She treats complex voice disorders and provides expert care for newborns with feeding difficulty. She holds dual certification as a lactation consultant.
Contact: erin@endo-education.com

Peter Belafsky, MD, PhD, MPH

Dr. Belafsky’s primary clinical interests are the comprehensive diagnosis and management of voice, swallowing, and airway disorders. As Medical Director of the Voice and Swallowing Center at UC Davis, Dr. Belafsky treats a wide array of laryngeal and esophageal disorders. These disorders include vocal fold paralysis and paresis, vocal fold dysfunction, laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, and dysphagia caused by stroke, ALS, Zenker’s diverticulum, esophageal motility disorders, Parkinson’s disease, and swallowing problems suffered as a consequence of the treatment of head and neck cancer. Dr. Belafsky pioneered minimally invasive treatments of voice and swallowing disorders. Minimally invasive in-office procedures performed by Dr. Belafsky at the Center include unsedated treatment of laryngeal polyps, leukoplakia, and papillomas, subglottic, tracheal, and esophageal strictures, and office-based vocal fold medialization. Dr. Belafsky’s primary research focus is the development of an artificial swallowing mechanism. He has created a medical device that can manually control the upper esophageal sphincter and is working on a comprehensive swallow propulsion system. He is also pursuing his interest in bloodless surgery through the use of radiofrequency probes and non-contact lasers. It is his ultimate goal to establish a bloodless surgery center.