Myriam J. Ortiz Torres, PhD, CCC-SLP
Contact Info
Education
- Bachillerato en Biología de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras
- Maestría en Desórdenes de la Comunicación de la Universidad de Massachusetts en Amherst
- Doctorado en Filosofía, Estudios Hispánicos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras
Myriam J. Ortiz Torres, PhD, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist with more than 30 years of experience across diverse clinical settings, including acute rehabilitation and neurogenic communication and swallowing disorders. She holds a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, and a master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Her research focuses on the sociophonetic study of Spanish vowels and voice, particularly the phenomenon of vocal fry. Her clinical interests include speech sound disorders, voice, stuttering, aphasia, and adult cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders.
Dr. Ortiz has experience in clinical, administrative, and teaching roles within higher education and healthcare settings. She currently contributes to the academic and clinical training of graduate students through teaching in the School of Health Professions at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, while continuing to provide direct clinical services in an acute rehabilitation hospital. She serves as principal investigator of a Parkinson Voice Project–funded initiative through which Puerto Rico was designated as a SPEAK OUT!® Therapy and Research Center. In addition, she serves as a member of the site visitor pool for the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
COURSES CURRENTLY TAUGHT
PHAL 6417 Neuroscience of the Cognitive Communicative and Swallowing Mechanisms
PHAL 6118 Voice and Resonance Disorders
PHAL 6519 Articulation Problems & Phonological Disorders
HLAG 6300 Basic Concepts of Linguistics Psycholinguistics and Psychoacustics
PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES
- Caraballo-Lopez, Y., Costello, E., & Ortiz, M. J., Facilitators and barriers to home exercise program (HEP) adherence in aphasia: SLP perspectives from the U.S. and Puerto Rico. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (aceptado para publicación, 2026). https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_AJSLP-25-00179
- Ortiz Torres, M. J. (2026, September 18). From my perspective/opinion: Vocal fry: Pathology or variation? The ASHA LeaderLive. https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FMP1.31092026.slp-vocal-fry-puerto-rico.8/full/
- Ortiz-Torres, M. J. (2025). ¿Patología o variación? Una mirada sociolingüística al vocal fry. Organización Puertorriqueña de Profesionales del Habla-Lenguaje y Audición (OPPHLA), 40(1).
- Ortiz-Torres, M. J. (2023). La glotalización de las vocales puertorriqueñas. Organización Puertorriqueña de Profesionales del Habla-Lenguaje y Audición (OPPHLA), 39(1).
- Ortiz-Torres, M. J. (2022). ¿Glotalizar o no glotalizar las vocales? Variación sociofonética en jóvenes puertorriqueñas. Disertación doctoral, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras.
Publicaciones profesionales y comunitarias
- Llirán, L., Pagán, P., Ramos, N., & Ortiz, M. Aprendizaje continuo: beneficios para el cuidador y su ser querido. AARP Puerto Rico, 2024.
- Ortiz, M., & Topp, V. Tratamiento avanzado para la tartamudez. Organización Puertorriqueña de Patología del Habla, Lenguaje y Audición (OPPHLA), 26(1), 2008.
- Ortiz, M. ¿Quién es el Patólogo del Habla? En Salud, 1(11), 2007.
Presentaciones y conferencias seleccionadas
- Tragado y habla en ALS. 5to Simposio para Pacientes con Esclerosis Lateral Amiotrófica y sus Familiares, Universidad de Puerto Rico School of Medicine, 2026.
- Manejo de tragado. 4to Simposio para Pacientes con Esclerosis Lateral Amiotrófica y sus Familiares, Universidad de Puerto Rico School of Medicine, 2025.
- Variation in Vocalic Creak of Young Puerto Rican Women (Technical session), 2024 ASHA Convention, Seattle, WA, USA, 2024
- Speech Therapy for People with Parkinson (student project / supervised). Convención del Colegio de Médicos Cirujanos de Puerto Rico, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, 2024.
- ¿Glotalizar o no glotalizar las vocales? Variación sociofonética en jóvenes puertorriqueñas, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, 2022.
- La voz glotalizada en Puerto Rico: variación sociolingüística, Hispanic Linguistic Symposium 2019, Universidad de Texas El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA, 2019.