Elizabeth S. Klings, MD

Elizabeth S. Klings, MD, is a board-certified pulmonologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC), where she directs the Pulmonary Hypertension Center, attends on the Medical Intensive Care Unit and Pulmonary Hypertension Consultation Service, and serves as Director of Clinical Research at BMC’s Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease, the largest sickle cell center in New England. Dr. Klings is also a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

Dr. Klings earned her medical degree from New York University and completed her internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center, where she stayed to complete a fellowship in Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine. In her clinical practice, she specializes in managing chronic dyspnea, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism, and pulmonary complications in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).

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 (ATS) on the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension in SCD. 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 who collaborates with various researchers 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.

Read a “5 Questions” Q&A with Dr. Klings »