Elizabeth S. Klings, MD

Biography

Dr. Klings is a Professor in the Department of Medicine. She is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease and the Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension at BUSM/Boston Medical Center. She has an outpatient clinical practice focused on patients with pulmonary hypertension and those with pulmonary complications of sickle cell disease. She attends in the Medical Intensive Care Unit and on the Pulmonary Hypertension Consultation Service at Boston Medical Center. As Director of the largest sickle cell center in New England, Dr. Klings has created numerous new clinical programs for our patients and has expanded the clinical trials program. She is a national clinical leader in the cardiopulmonary management of patients with sickle cell disease and receives consultations and patients referred for second opinions from throughout the US.

Dr. Klings’ research since fellowship has focused on pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular complications of sickle cell disease. She is an NIH-funded Principal Investigator .in the Pulmonary Center collaborating with numerous other investigators across the medical campus. She has phenotypically screened over 200 sickle cell patients at Boston Medical Center for the presence of pulmonary hypertension and currently investigating the roles of disease modulators including sleep-disordered breathing and venous thromboembolism in the endothelial and vascular dysfunction these patients experience. Known internationally as a leader in the care and treatment of patients with sickle cell disease, she was first author of the American Thoracic Society sponsored clinical guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension in Sickle Cell Disease. In 2017, she chaired an ATS sponsored workshop to define clinical and research priorities in sickle cell lung disease and serves on the Medical and Research Advisory Committee of the Sickle Cell Disease Association. She is crafting the long-term follow-up cardiopulmonary plan for evaluating sickle cell disease patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or gene therapy as part of a NIH sponsored committee. She is Co-Chair of the Research Committee within the New England Sickle Cell Consortium.