Lauren Dunne

Lauren Dunne is a registered respiratory therapist who cares for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). She recommends various therapies to assist breathing, and helps teach patients and their families how to use devices such as incentive spirometers (which help patients take deeper breaths), positive expiratory pressure devices (which help clear mucus), tracheostomy tubes (used for a surgically created opening in the trachea) and invasive ventilation devices (used when an artificial airway is needed). Also, as part of the UCSF Rapid Response Team, she assists with patients' urgent respiratory health care needs.

Dunne earned her bachelor's degree in respiratory therapy at the University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences.