Elizabeth S. Klings, M.D.

Faculty and Fellows

Elizabeth S. Klings, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine

 

Medical School: New York University School of Medicine
Internship: Boston City Hospital
Residency: Boston City Hospital
Fellowship: Boston University School of Medicine
Master’s/PhD programs: Masters of Science in Epidemiology
Board Certifications: Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine

Special Interests:
RESEARCH:

  • Pulmonary complications of sickle cell disease
  • Oxidant stress and Nitric Oxide biology

CLINICAL:

  • Pulmonary Hypertension
  • General Pulmonary Medicine
  • Critical Care Medicine

Dr. Klings is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine. She attends in the Medical Intensive Care Unit and on the Pulmonary Consultation Service at Boston Medical Center . Additionally, she has a clinic in the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Boston Medical Center where she is involved in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension (Pulmonary Hypertension Center).

Dr. Klings’ research focuses on the role of altered nitric oxide biology and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular complications of sickle cell disease. She is an NIH-funded Principal Investigator and a member of the Vascular Biology Research Group of the Pulmonary Center . Additionally, Dr. Klings is an investigator in the Boston Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, the Genetic Modulation of Sickle Cell Disease Research group and the Cardiovascular Proteomics Center at Boston University . Through collaborative efforts with each of these groups, Dr. Klings has screened over 150 sickle cell disease patients at Boston Medical Center for pulmonary hypertension. This cohort of patients is being studied for genetic modifiers associated with the development of pulmonary hypertension. Additionally, the role of oxidative post-translational protein modification in disease pathogenesis is being explored (see sickle cell disease translational research page).

Selected Publications:

  1. Klings ES, Bland DA, Rosenman D, Princeton S, Odhiambo A, Li G, Bernard SA, Steinberg MH, Farber HW. Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Left-Sided Heart Disease in Sickle Cell Disease: Clinical Characteristics and Association with Soluble Adhesion Molecule Expression. Am J Hematol 2008 83 (7):547-553.
  2. Morris CR, Suh JH, Larkin S, Bland DA, Steinberg MH, Vichinsky EP, Shigenaga M, Ames B, Kuypers FA, Klings ES. Erythrocyte glutamine depletion, altered redox environment, and pulmonary hypertension in sickle cell disease. Blood 2008 111 ( 1 ): 402-10.
  3. Klings ES. Pulmonary Hypertension of Sickle Cell Disease: More Than Just Another Lung Disease (Editorial). Am J Hematol. 2008; 83 ( 1 ): 4-5.
  4. Odhiambo A, Perlman DH, Huang H, Costello CE, Farber HW, Steinberg MH, McComb ME, Klings ES. Identification of oxidative post-translational modification of serum albumin in patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension of sickle cell anemia. Commun Mass Spectrom 2007; 21:2195-2203.
  5. Klings ES, Wyszynski DF, Nolan VG, Steinberg MH.  Abnormal Pulmonary Function in Adults with Sickle Cell Anemia: Association of Decreased D L CO with Systemic Disease. Amer J Resp Crit Care Med 2006; 173:1264-1269.
  6. Klings ES, Safaya S, Adewoye AH, Odhiambo A, Frampton G, Lenburg M, Gerry N, Sebastiani P, Steinberg MH, Farber HW. Differential Gene Expression in Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cells Exposed to Sickle Cell Plasma. Physiol Genomics 2005; 21: 293-8.
  7. Klings ES, Christman BW, McClung J, Stucchi AF, McMahon L, Brauer M. Farber HW. Increased oxidative stress in the acute chest syndrome of sickle cell disease: Demonstration in vivo using F2 isoprostanes. Amer J Resp and Crit Care Med 2001 164:1248-1252.
  8. Klings ES, Farber HW. The role of free radicals in the pathogenesis of acute chest syndrome of sickle cell disease (review). Resp Research 2001;280-285.
  9. Klings ES, Hill NS, Ieong MH, Simms RW, Korn JH, Farber HW. Systemic sclerosis associated pulmonary hypertension: short and long-term effects of epoprostenol (prostacyclin). Arth & Rheum 1999, 42:2638-45.
  10. Hammerman SI, Klings ES, Hendra KP, Upchurch GR, Rishikof DC, Loscalzo J Farber HW. Endothelial cell nitric oxide production in the acute chest syndrome. Am J Phys 1999, 277:H1579-H1592.

Book Chapters:

  1. Klings ES, Farber HW. The Pathogenesis of HIV-associated Pulmonary Hypertension. In: Barbaro G ed. HIV Infection and the Cardiovascular System. Advances in Cardiology Vol 40. Basel ( Switzerland ):Karger; 2003;71-82.
  2. Klings ES and Loscalzo J. Secondary Pulmonary Hypertension. In: Creager MA, Dzau VJ, Loscalzo J ed. Vascular Medicine: A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease 1st ed. Elsevier; 2006: 822-831.
  3. Fisher KA and Klings ES . Pulmonary hypertension associated with HIV, Liver Disease, Sarcoidosis and Sickle Cell Disease. In: Pulmonary Hypertension. Hill NS , Farber HW, ed. Contemporary Cardiology series, Cannon C, Series ed., Humana Publishers, Cardiology series, Cannon C, Series ed., Humana Publishers, Totowa NJ.2008:173-198.
  4. Hill NS and Klings ES. General Therapeutic Approach and Traditional Therapies. In: Pulmonary Hypertension. Hill NS , Farber HW, ed. Contemporary Cardiology series, Cannon C, Series ed., Humana Publishers, Totowa NJ.2008: 231-253.

Selected Reprints:

Abnormal pulmonary function in sickle cell anemia

Links:

Dr. Klings see patients at Boston Medical Center in the Doctor’s Office Building, 4th floor: 617-638-7480

  

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Primary teaching affiliate
of BU School of Medicine