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Kristal Mills Riska

Assistant Professor of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences
Communication Sciences
Duke South Yellow Zone 4000, DUMC Box 3805, Durham, NC 27710
40 Medicine Circle, DUMC Box 3805, Durham, NC 27710

Research Interests


My research program’s overarching goals are to improve the diagnosis and management of dizziness, falls, and vestibular disorders. Her research focuses in three strategic areas: 1) improving the identification of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo in primary care settings to enable timely access to cost-effective treatment, 2) characterizing the role of vestibular function and rehabilitative strategies in post-concussive/mild traumatic brain injury related dizziness; and 3) identifying and understanding the mechanisms that mediate the association between falls and hearing loss in an effort to develop interventions that will modify falls risk in the hearing impaired population.

Selected Grants


Identifying mechanisms between hearing loss and falls

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders · 2023 - 2028

Otolaryngology Surgeon- Scientist career Path (OSSP) program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders · 2022 - 2027

Falls Related Injuries and Hearing Loss: Understanding the role of hearing healthcare intervention

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2024

Factors associated with outcomes in patients with vestibular symptoms related to traumatic brain injury

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mountain Home Research & Education Corporation · 2021 - 2022

Factors associated with outcomes in patients with vestibular symptoms related to traumatic brain injury

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Mountain Home Research & Education Corporation · 2017 - 2020

External Relationships


  • American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA)
  • Paid by NIH for serving on study sections for grant reviews

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.