A physician at UW Health and the Middleton Veterans Hospital in Madison, the focus of Dr. Teodorescu’s research program is to develop effective strategies for treating chronic lung diseases (CLD), such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary fibrosis, by targeting its interaction with sleep and sleep-breathing disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This earlier interest stemmed from the fact that little was known about what, now, we’ve learned to be a bidirectional relationship (one exacerbates the other, forming a negative cyclical relationship) between CLD and OSA, giving credence to the fact that the lower and upper airways are truly united. Patients with CLD are more prone for developing sleep apnea, which in turn exacerbates their lung disease.
As well as being a researcher, she is also a clinician, specializing is critical care, pulmonary care, and sleep medicine.