Karen Parker Davidson

Dr. Karen Parker Davidson, RN, is an internationally recognized Airway Clinical Nurse Specialist, researcher, educator, and medical technology innovator and the Founder of the International Society of Airway Function Diagnostics and Therapeutics (ISAFDT).

Dr. Davidson brings a distinctive combination of advanced airway clinical expertise and doctoral-level education spanning Functional Medicine, Holistic Medicine, and Health Administration with a focus on Health Policy. She is the first known practitioner to combine advanced specialized training in airway diagnostics with this breadth of doctoral-level preparation, bridging airway physiology, functional health, healthcare policy, and medical technology innovation.

Drawing on more than four decades of healthcare experience as a critical care nurse, flight nurse, Airway Clinical Nurse Specialist, and medical technology researcher, Dr. Davidson recognized a critical gap between ENT, sleep medicine, and objective airway-function assessment. Her clinical experience led her to recognize that airway health cannot be fully understood through anatomy or symptoms alone. Pressure, resistance, airflow, and airway mechanics are interconnected and must be objectively measured and interpreted.

While individual medical specialties lack aspects of nasal obstruction, sleep-disordered breathing, airflow, pressure, and airway resistance, Dr. Davidson recognized the need for an interdisciplinary organization dedicated to bringing these elements together through objective airway-function diagnostics, education, and clinical integration. ISAFDT was created to help fill that gap.

Her pioneering work in 4-phase rhinomanometry and objective nasal function measurement has advanced the clinical understanding and application of nasal resistance and airway function. She has developed innovative clinical methods and technologies, including the Davidson Maneuver©, FACT Method™, MAVERICK Nasal Exam™, DAFNE Score™, TAMI™, and Airway AI, integrating objective physiologic measurements, clinical algorithms, and emerging artificial intelligence into airway assessment.

Dr. Davidson’s work bridges ENT, sleep medicine, dentistry, orthodontics, surgery, nursing, and medical technology, with a focus on understanding how airway function, pressure, resistance, and airflow affect breathing and sleep. Her novel research and clinical work have explored relationships among nasal flow limitation, airway resistance, posture, sleep-related behaviors, bruxism, neuromodulating oral devices, hypoglossal nerve stimulation, and other factors affecting airway function.

A former U.S. Air Force Reserve Flight Nurse and Critical Care Nurse, Dr. Davidson brings a unique clinical and physiologic perspective to airway science. She is also a healthcare executive, university professor, consultant, author, researcher, peer reviewer, and international speaker.

Dr. Davidson is an adjunct professor at Liberty University and Central Michigan University, where she teaches health policy, grant writing, and medical reimbursement at the master’s and doctoral levels. She has also led workshops, seminars, and residency training programs in airway-focused disciplines.

Her contributions to airway research, healthcare innovation, and education have received national and international recognition. She received the designation as a Top 100 Healthcare Leader by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare, the 2020 Outstanding Dissertation Award from Central Michigan University for her research on healthcare reimbursement practices and was nominated for the Carolina Nursing Alumni Award in 2023. In 2022, she was recognized among the Top 50 Women Leaders in Washington, DC, by Women We Admire. Her work in airway emergency innovation also contributed to a National Science Foundation award that was recognized in a formal 2024 commendation from the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker, Mike Johnson.

Dr. Davidson holds doctoral degrees in Functional Medicine, Holistic Medicine, and Health Administration with a focus on Health Policy, along with master’s degrees in Nursing, Health Services Administration, and Education. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds board certifications in Functional and Holistic Medicine and is a member of the American Academy of Functional Medicine, American Association of Natural Wellness Practitioners, National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, American College of Healthcare Executives, and the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. 

A sought-after international speaker, Dr. Davidson lectures for dental and orthodontic residency programs, appears as a guest on podcasts and professional programs, and participates in airway and sleep medicine conferences. Her work has resulted in patents, copyrights, trademarks, clinical methodologies, and emerging technologies in nasal function measurement and AI-driven diagnostics.

Dr. Davidson is the author of numerous medical and dental publications and most recently released The Nose Decoded: Unveiling 60 Nasal Functions That Impact Your Health, which achieved #1 New Release in Dentistry/Orthodontics and became an Amazon bestseller. She is also the author of Breathe Through Your Nose, Don’t Pay Through It: The Impact the Healthcare Industry Has on Nasal Function and How We Breathe and My Little Nose: Where the Air Goes, the first book in the My Little Nose series of children’s books teaching nasal function and breathing.

Through ISAFDT, Dr. Davidson is advancing an interdisciplinary approach to airway care that moves beyond structure and symptoms toward objective measurement, interpretation, and understanding of airway function.