Robert J. Cerfolio, MBA, FACS, '84, '88M (MD)

Dr. Robert J. Cerfolio is executive vice president, vice dean, and chief operating officer at New York University (NYU) Langone Health in New York City. Additionally, he is chief of the thoracic clinical division and professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the NYU School of Medicine, and director of the NYU Lung Cancer Center.

A proud graduate of the University of Rochester, Cerfolio earned a bachelor of arts in interdepartmental studies and was a first team Academic All-American baseball player. He earned a medical degree from the School of Medicine and Dentistry in the Rochester Early Selection Plan and was later selected to join the AOA Honor Medical Society. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

Throughout his career, Cerfolio has served on many committees, advisory boards, and editorial boards. Most notably, he is past president of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Society, and a member of the board of directors of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education and the Society of Thoracic Surgeon Executive Board Committee. He has published over 360 peer-reviewed journals and over 82 book chapters, and has served as lecturer and visiting professor over 550 times around the world.

In 2017, Cerfolio received the Best Surgical Teacher Award at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), later renamed the Robert J. Cerfolio Teaching Award in recognition of his 20 years of teaching at UAB. In 2007, he was the first recipient of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association Inspiration Award in recognition of his contributions and mentorship to medical students, residents, and fellows in cardiothoracic surgery. Also in 2007, Cerfolio received the Argus Teaching Award, given by medical students and residents to the best surgical attending at UAB.