Irina Petrache, MD

Chief, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

Professor, Department of Medicine

Associate Vice President, Faculty Development

Wollowick Endowed Chair in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

National Jewish Health

Dr. Irina Petrache is chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and associate vice president of faculty development at National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, where she is professor of medicine who holds the Wollowick Endowed Chair in COPD Research. She is also professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, where she co-directs the T32 Training Program in Pulmonary Sciences.

Dr. Petrache is a member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), where she has served in numerous roles and committees, including as chair of the ATS International Conference. In 2021, Dr. Petrache was elected as an Executive Board Member of the American Thoracic Society and serves as ATS President in 2024-2025.

She is an alumna of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. Dr. Petrache received several awards for her academic activities, including the Elizabeth Rich Award; The Golden Lung Award for excellence in teaching; Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Chancellor’s Prestigious External Award Recognition and the Research Frontiers Trailblazer Award.

As part of her post-doctoral training, Dr. Petrache completed clinical and research fellowships in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Petrache is board certified in internal medicine, clinical care medicine, and pulmonary medicine.

Dr. Petrache held faculty positions as assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University and associate professor and then tenured professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she served as Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Petrache’s clinical interests include COPD, emphysema, sarcoidosis, acute lung injury, and pulmonary hypertension. She leads a laboratory at National Jewish Health focused on the pathogenesis of emphysema and pulmonary vascular remodeling in COPD, as well as distal lung injury and repair in response to vaping, cigarette smoking, and acute viral infections.