The vodka trial: In search of a treatment for vocal disorders, a researcher puts patient anecdotes to the test
Mondays are vodka days. For the members of Dr. Kristina Simonyan’s lab, this is not a feeling but a fact — not a result of the workday but a necessary part of it. Everything takes place strictly according to protocol. When Karen Feeley arrived one Monday in April 2019, they gave her scrubs, flimsy blue slipper-socks, and a crinkled white lab coat, and after some initial testing, led her into what they call a “behavioral room” — a joyless place with the air of an unused office.
Pharmacists had prepared the therapy specifically for her, in little reddish bottles that reminded her of liquid penicillin. A research assistant gave her careful instructions. But Feeley already knew exactly what do to do. “What do you do with a shot of vodka? Basically, you pour it down your neck. So I drank it and then banged the bottle on the table,” Feeley said.
