Timothy Rich, MD, was born and raised on a sheep farm in Northern Wisconsin, an upbringing that instilled the strong work ethic and deep sense of community that continue to shape his career in medicine. He earned his BS in Biology and BA in Psychology from the University of Minnesota Duluth, followed by his MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

During residency training, Dr. Rich first recognized the connection between thyroid and lung biology in a young elite female athlete reporting unexplained dyspnea. The patient’s disability progressed to the point of needing a heart-lung transplant. However, after diagnosing and treating an unexpected thyroid disorder, the patient’s heart and lung function gradually normalized, to the point of no longer requiring transplant surgery. As a result of this sentinel patient, Dr. Rich joined Dr. Ingbar in advancing the thyroid-lung line of science. His initial research identified a variety of thyroid hormone transporters in the lung. Later, he discovered increased deiodinase type 3 expression and activity in human autopsy with acute lung injury, causing low lung tissue thyroid hormone, therefore furthering the scientific rationale for thyroid hormone replacement in the lung. Dr. Rich’s research focuses on Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and he has several pending publications in collaboration with Dr. Ingbar. Notably, Dr. Rich served as Principal Investigator for the first-in-human instillation of thyroid hormone into the lungs of a patient with ARDS, advancing innovative translational approaches to the treatment of severe lung injury.

Since 2007, Dr. Rich has served as a dedicated physician-scientist at Essentia Health in Duluth, MN, where he has held a range of clinical, academic, research, and leadership roles. He is the past Chair of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, where he started the medical critical care program, and has been recognized with numerous honors for his contributions to patient care and medical leadership.