Dr. Dowdall received her medical degree from Boston University and is board certified in Otolaryngology with fellowship training in laryngology and professional voice. She has been involved in sleep research since her time as an undergraduate. 

As a resident, she worked under sleep expert, Dr. Ho-Sheng Lin, in Detroit as sleep endoscopy and sleep surgery became more commonly performed.

During fellowship, she became more curious about the correlation between sleep apnea and voice and airway disorders, dry mouth and throat, coughing and GERD. She observed an overnight sleep study on one of her airway patients that changed her perspective on the relationship between conditions.

During her years of practice at Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she was on several working groups, which highlighted a unified airway approach to care including the Women’s Lung Health Group, the Partners Severe Asthma Group and the Tracheobronchomalacia group.

As a laryngologist at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine, she has integrated screening for sleep disorders in laryngology patients. Since 2019, she has collaborated with the airway anesthesia team at UNMC to help bring hypoglossal nerve stimulation to Nebraska.

She specialized in a multi-disciplinary approach for care of the professional voice, laryngeal contributions to breathing disorders, gender affirming care and sleep disorders. She has expertise in advanced diagnostics, office-based laser surgery and a holistic approach for complex rehabilitation. From a research perspective, she is interested in sex differences in intubation injury, airway and sleep disorders and how these may differentially manifest across the lifespan.