Audra Schwalk, M.D.
Assistant Professor

Audra Schwalk, M.D., M.B.A., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of its ’s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Her clinical interests include advanced diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy, pleural diseases, and management of central airway obstruction.

Originally from Texas, Dr. Schwalk holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Texas A&M University in Waco. She earned her medical degree at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, where she also completed her residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary diseases and critical care medicine. She received advanced training in interventional pulmonology through an additional fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She also holds an M.B.A. in health organization management from Texas Tech’s Rawls College of Business.

Board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2020.

Dr. Schwalk’s research interests include interventional pulmonology, pleural diseases, minimally invasive treatment options for thoracic malignancies and efficacy of intratumoral medication injections.

Dr. Schwalk is an active member of the American College of Chest Physicians, which has designated her a Distinguished Educator, and the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology, Texas Medical Association, and Dallas County Medical Society.

In 2019, she earned the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center IP Fellowship Award for Teamwork and Humanism.

Personal Note

Outside of medicine, Dr. Schwalk enjoys spending time with her family, watching Texas sporting events, camping, hiking, fly fishing and traveling with her husband. 

Other Post Graduate Training

Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business (2010)

Medical School

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (2013)

Residency

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (2016), Internal Medicine

Fellowship

Texas Tech University Health Science Center (2019), Pulmonary Diseases & Critical Care Medicine

Fellowship

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (2020), Interventional Pulmonology

• Airway Obstruction
• Interventional Pulmonology
• Lung Cancer
• Lung Preserving Management of Thoracic Malignancies
• Pleural Disease

Featured Publications

Development of Miniature Y Stent for Treatment of Postoperative Bronchial Stenosis.

Schwalk AJ, Marcoux M, Swisher SG, Casal RF, Ann Thorac Surg 2020 08 110 2 e99-e101

Acquired Perfusion Defect.

Bahdi F, Schwalk AJ, Faiz SA, Arch Bronconeumol 2020 Jun

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided injection of NBTXR3 radio-enhancing nanoparticles into mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes: a swine model to evaluate feasibility, injection technique, safety, nanoparticle retention and dispersion.

Casal RF, Schwalk AJ, Fowlkes N, Aburto RR, Norton W, Dixon KA, Lin S, Shaitelman SF, Chintalapani G, Hill L, J Thorac Dis 2020 May 12 5 2317-2324

Symmetrical peripheral gangrene.

Ismail, A., & Schwalk, A. The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles 2019 7 28 4-6

Indwelling pleural catheters for recurrent pleural effusions: A useful clinical tool with serious implications

Samuel Copeland MD, Audra Schwalk MD, Sakolwan Suchartlikitwong MD, Shengping Yang PhD, Gilbert Berdine MD The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles 2018 6 25 8?13

Intra-pleural tissue plasminogen activator and deoxyribonuclease: An alternative treatment option for pleural infections in specific populations.

Medrano, R., Schwalk, A., & Islam, E. The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles 2018 6 25 38-41

A clinical amalgam: Fever of unknown origin, large B cell intravascular lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Lacy M, Fuller A, Radhi S, Warraich I. Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice. 2018 26 6 e55-57

Pulmonary artery aneurysm secondary to congenital pulmonic valve stenosis.

Schwalk, A., & Berdine, G. The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles 2017 5 21 32-35

Coccidioidomycosis with diffuse miliary pneumonia.

Sotello D, Rivas M, Fuller A, Mahmood T, Orellana-Barrios M, Nugent K, Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent) 2016 Jan 29 1 39-41

Ciprofloxacin-Induced Renal Failure.

Fuller, A. The Southwest Respiratory and Critical Care Chronicles 2015 3 12 32-38

 Featured Books

Pulmonary Complications in Cancer Therapy. In MD Anderson Manuel of Medical Oncology, 4th Ed.

Schwalk AJ, Faiz SA, Grosu HB, Bashora L, Shannon VR (2020). McGraw-Hill Education

• Distinguished CHEST Educator
  American College of Chest Physicians (2022)
• Distinguished Service Award
  American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (2022)
• Excellence in Teaching Award
  UT Southwestern (2022)
• Internal Medicine Most Outstanding Fellow
  Texas Tech University (2019)
• MD Anderson Cancer Center IP Fellowship Award for Teamwork and Humanism
  MD Anderson Cancer Center (2019)
• Internal Medicine Most Outstanding Senior
  Texas Tech University (2016)
• Upsilon Phi Delta National Academic Honor Society
  Member (2010)

• American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology
• American College of Chest Physicians
• Dallas County Medical Society
• Texas Medical Association
• Women in Interventional Pulmonology