Peter C. Belafsky

About

Peter C. Belafsky, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at UC Davis Health and serves as the Director of the Center for Voice & Swallowing. His primary clinical interests include the comprehensive diagnosis and management of voice, swallowing, and airway disorders. As the head of the Voice and Swallowing Center at UC Davis, he treats a wide array of laryngeal and esophageal disorders, including vocal fold paralysis, vocal fold dysfunction, laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, and dysphagia caused by various neurological and structural conditions. Dr. Belafsky has pioneered minimally invasive treatments for voice and swallowing disorders, performing in-office procedures such as treatment of laryngeal polyps, leukoplakia, papillomas, strictures, and vocal fold medialization. His research focuses on the innovative treatment of profound swallowing disorders. He has developed a medical device to manually control the upper esophageal sphincter, is working on an innovative dilator for upper esophageal sphincter stenosis, and is developing a comprehensive swallow propulsion system. Additionally, he is evaluating the use of muscle stem cells for dysphagia rehabilitation. Dr. Belafsky's academic background includes a B.A. from Vassar College, an M.D. and M.P.H. from Tulane University, and a Ph.D. from Tulane University Graduate School. His training includes an internship and residency in Otolaryngology at Tulane University, and a fellowship in…

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Physical therapy
• Pediatrics
• Surgery

Selected publications

• The Dubai Definition and Diagnostic Criteria of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux: The <scp>IFOS</scp> Consensus

  The Laryngoscope · 2023 · 119 citations

  OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to gather an international consensus group to propose a global definition and diagnostic approach of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) to guide primary care and specialist physicians in the management of LPR. METHODS: Forty-eight international experts (otolaryngologists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, and physiologists) were included in a modified Delphi process to revise 48 statements about definition, clinical presentation, and diagnostic approaches to LP…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Predictors of Aspiration Pneumonia and Mortality in Patients with Dysphagia

  The Laryngoscope · 2021 · 63 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To identify risk factors for pneumonia incidence in patients with dysphagia undergoing a videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) in an outpatient tertiary-care center. STUDY DESIGN: Historical cohort study. METHODS: All individuals undergoing a VFSS between 10/02/13 and 07/30/15 were identified and followed historically for 2 years. Demographic information, medical history, and fluoroscopic data were collected. The 2-year incidence of pneumonia was obtained from the medical…

  DOI

• Side Effects of Proton Pump Inhibitors: What are Patients’ Concerns?

  Journal of Voice · 2020 · 23 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• DNA immunotherapy for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP): phase 1/2 study assessing efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of INO-3107

  Nature Communications · 2025-02-12 · 13 citations

  articleOpen access

  Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a chronic airway disease caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). INO-3107, DNA immunotherapy designed to elicit T-cells against HPV-6 and HPV-11, was evaluated in a 52-week Phase 1/2 study for efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity (NCT04398433). Thirty-two eligible adults with HPV-6 and/or HPV-11 RRP, requiring ≥2 surgical interventions in the year preceding dosing were enrolled between October 2020 and November 2021 and administered 4 INO-3107 doses by…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Global Experience of Laryngeal Transplantation: Series of Eleven Patients in Three Continents

  The Laryngoscope · 2024-07-06 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: The loss of laryngeal function affects breathing, swallowing, and voice, thus severely compromises quality of life. Laryngeal transplantation has long been suggested as a solution for selected highly affected patients with complete laryngeal function loss. OBJECTIVE: To obtain insights regarding the advantages, weaknesses, and limitations of this procedure and facilitate future advances, we collected uniform data from all known laryngeal transplants reported internationally. METHODOL…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Manual Control of the Upper Esophageal Sphincter

  NIH · $1.3M · 2011–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Gregory N. Postma

  Augusta University

  151 shared

• James A. Koufman

  89 shared

• Maggie A. Kuhn

  University of California, Davis

  48 shared

• Milan R. Amin

  New York University

  40 shared

• Catherine J. Rees

  36 shared

• Nogah Nativ‐Zeltzer

  Tel Aviv University

  29 shared

• Rebecca Leonard

  26 shared

• Daniel J. Cates

  University of California, Davis

  20 shared

Labs

• Center for Voice and SwallowingPI

Education

• M.D., Otolaryngology

  University of California, Davis

  1992

• Other, Public Health

  University of California, Berkeley

  1994

• Ph.D., Otolaryngology

  University of California, San Francisco

  1998

Awards & honors

• American Laryngological Presidential Citation Award, COSM, 2…
• Dean's Team Award, for laryngeal transplant, 2011
• Recipient, Dean's Team Award for Excellence in Clinical Care…
• The Honorable Mention Award for Clinical research, The Ameri…

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