Specialties
Ruth J. Davis, MD
Assistant Professor
- Division of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery
Dr. Davis is a translational and clinical researcher with a focus on voice and airway disorders. Her research has been funded by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. Her primary areas of study include laryngotracheal stenosis, aging voice, and laryngeal leukoplakia. Her research program applies principles of immunology, fibroblast biology, and tissue engineering to the study of novel treatments for laryngeal disease.
- University Hospital Clinic: 608-263-6190
Education
- MD, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
- Residency, Otolaryngology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
- Fellowship, Laryngology, Vanderbilt Voice Center, Nashville, TN
Clinical Specialties
Dr. Davis is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and is a fellowship-trained laryngologist who specializes in the care of patients with voice, airway, and swallowing disorders. Her expertise includes airway stenosis and complex airway reconstruction, care of professional voice users, vocal cord paralysis, inflammatory and infectious disorders of the larynx, recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, laryngeal leukoplakia, and early-stage laryngeal cancers. Dr. Davis takes a patient-centered approach, emphasizing patient values in a shared decision-making process. Given the intersection of laryngeal disease with a variety of organ systems, Dr. Davis recognizes the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in the personalized management of her patients, working closely with colleagues in speech-language pathology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, thoracic surgery, neurology, radiation oncology, and physical therapy, among others.
Dr. Davis provides a wide range of services including Airway Dilation, Airway Reconstruction, Cricopharyngeal myotomy, Laryngeal Papilloma Laser Treatment, Laryngeal Surgery, Laser Procedures, Leukoplakia Laser Treatment, Microflap excision of vocal fold lesions, Microlaryngoscopy, Tracheostomy, Vocal Cord Injection, Zenker’s Diverticulectomy.
Research Interests
Dr. Davis is a translational and clinical researcher with a focus on voice and airway disorders. Her research has been funded by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. Her primary areas of study include laryngotracheal stenosis, aging voice, and laryngeal leukoplakia. Her research program applies principles of immunology, fibroblast biology, and tissue engineering to the study of novel treatments for laryngeal disease.
Dr. Davis recently received a $40,000 Career Development Award from the Triological Society. Read more here.
Recent Publications
Bilateral internal superior laryngeal nerve injections for unexplained chronic cough.
Bowen AJ, Roitman A, Ring S, Francis DO, Davis RJ, McCulloch T, Dailey SH
Am J Otolaryngol 2024 Dec 19; 46(1): 104568
[PubMed ID: 39740535]Recurrent Inflammatory Reaction to Laryngeal Hyaluronic Acid Injection.
Kreuser H, Fletcher KC, Davis RJ
Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 2024 Nov 30; 34894241304489
[PubMed ID: 39614754]Microbiome and Communication Disorders: A Tutorial for Clinicians.
Venkatraman A, Davis R, Tseng WH, Thibeault SL
J Speech Lang Hear Res 2025 Jan 02; 68(1): 148-163
[PubMed ID: 39572259]PD-L1 Acts Independently of PD-1 as a Marker of Pathologic Fibroblasts in Laryngotracheal Stenosis.
Davis RJ, Talatala ERR, Wu H, Zhang Y, Park JS, Gelbard A
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2024 Oct 23;
[PubMed ID: 39441651]Similarity Network Analysis of the Adaptive Immune Response in the Proximal Airway.
Clark E, Talatala ERR, Ye W, Davis RJ, Collins SL, Hillel AT, Ramirez-Solano M, Sheng Q, Wanjalla CN, Mallal SA, Gelbard A
Laryngoscope 2024 Jul; 134(7): 3245-3252
[PubMed ID: 38450771]