Born in Romania, Dr. Sadowsky attended the Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest from 1983 to 1989. She completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Meridia Huron Hospital/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH in 1994. She served as Chief Resident from July 1994 to June 1995. From there, she began a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She was named Chief Resident of that program in April, 1997. Immediately following Dr. Sadowsky’s completion of her second residency, she began a fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/ Washington University School of Medicine. At the same time, she became a Clinical Instructor in the School’s Department of Neurology and later assumed an Assistant Professorship in Neurology in the Division of Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Unit. In October 2004 she moved to Baltimore, joining the Kennedy Krieger Institute as Director of the Paralysis Restoration Clinic in the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury. In March 2005 she became Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Dr. Sadowsky has served as president and treasurer of the St. Louis Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Society and previously held positions on the Advisory Boards of the St. Louis Wheelchair Athletic Association and the Sam Schmidt Foundation, an organization devoted to helping individuals overcome spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses by facilitating scientific research, medical treatment, rehabilitation and technology advances. She is the director of the Spinal Cord Injury Medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Program, an ACGME accredited fellowship that trains physicians to deliver the highest quality medical care for any individual with spinal cord related dysfunction.

Professional honors include receiving the Outstanding Resident Award in Medicine from Meridia Huron Hospital in 1995, being named Best Resident of the Year in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Washington University School of Medicine in 1998 and Best Teaching Attending of the Year in 1999, receiving the 2000 Outstanding Performance Award from the Spinal Cord Injury Board and being named one of Top Doctors in Baltimore in 2007 and Best Doctors in America 2007-2008 and 2009 - 2010.

Dr. Sadowsky’s research interests center on prevention of complications in patients with paralysis and the efficacy of activity-based restoration therapies in helping individuals with long-term spinal cord injury and paralysis recover sensation, movement and independence.

Sadowsky,CL., McDonald, JW. (2009). "Activity Based Restorative Therapies: concepts and applications in spinal cord injury-related neurorehabilitation" Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews 15:112-116

McDonald, JW., Sadowsky, CL. (2008) Spasticity and spinal cord injury. Johnston and Gross (eds). Contemporary Neurology Series. Principles of Drug Therapy in Neurology. Second Edition.

Sadowsky, CL. (2008) Medical Complications of Spinal Cord Injury Spinal Cord Injury: A Guide for Living. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Sadowsky, CL., Pidcock, F., Brandys, E., Morozova, O., Trovato, M., Salorio, C., & Christensen, J. (2007) Aquired Spinal Cord Dysfunction. Capute & Accardo's Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Infancy and Childhood, Third Edition.

Becker D, Sadowsky CL, & McDonald JW. (2003). "Restoring function after spinal cord injury." Neurology, 9(1): 1-15.

Trovato M, Pidcock F, Sadowsky C, Brandys E, Suskauer S, Salorio C, Christensen J. (2006) "Rehabilitation of Children with Critical Illness." Spinal Cord Injury. Rogers Textbook of Pediatric Intensive Care. 4th Edition

Sadowsky C, Volshteyn O, Schultz L, McDonald JW (2002) "Spinal Cord Injury" Disability and Rehabilitation 24(13):680-687

McDonald JW, Becker D, Sadowsky C, Jane JA, Conturo TE, & Schultz LM. (2002). "Late recovery following spinal cord injury; case report and review of the literature." J Neurosurg (Spine 2), 97:252-265.

McDonald JW, Sadowsky CL. Spinal cord injury Seminar, Lancet (2002). 359: 417-425.

Sadowsky CL. (2001) "Electrical stimulation in spinal cord injury" NeuroRehabilitation 16(3): 164-169.

Sadowsky CL, Margherita A. (1999) "The cost of spinal cord injury care." State of the Art Reviews in Spine (STARS) 13(3): 593-606.