Elizabeth S. Klings, MD

Elizabeth S. Klings, MD is a pulmonologist and director of both the Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease (the largest sickle cell center in New England) and the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Boston Medical Center (BMC). She also serves as associate professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Klings specializes in managing chronic dyspnea, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism, and pulmonary complications in patients with sickle cell disease in her practices in the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, Medical Intensive Care Unit, and Pulmonary Consultation Service at BMC. 

Dr. Klings is an internationally recognized leader in the care of patients with sickle cell disease and pulmonary hypertension. In 2014, she led the development of clinical guidelines for the American Thoracic Society on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension in Sickle Cell Disease. Additionally, she chaired an ATS-sponsored workshop to define clinical and research priorities in sickle cell lung disease and serves on the NHLBI Sickle Cell Disease Advisory Committee. 

Dr. Klings is an NIH-funded principal investigator in the Pulmonary Center at BMC, collaborating with various investigators across the medical campus. She is actively involved in expanding the clinical trials program at BMC. Her research focuses on the pulmonary vascular complications of sickle cell disease, utilizing genomic and proteomic tools to investigate biological mechanisms. She is also studying the roles of sleep-disordered breathing and venous thromboembolism in endothelial and vascular dysfunction in these patients.