
Dr. Louis DePalo
New York
Internal Medicine
Pulmonology
Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Louis DePalo is a top doctor and sought-after pulmonology expert with an extensive background in both research and clinical care. As a previously UNOS-certified physician and former director of a prestigious lung transplant program at Mount Sinai, he has dedicated much of his career to unraveling the complexities of the human body.
As a child, he says, two things set the course of his future as a medical doctor. He loved to build, and he recalls one model stirring something within him. It was of the human heart, and its intricacies grabbed his interest. He also loved watching the TV show Marcus Welby, MD, a charming show about a beloved primary care doctor known for his exceptional bedside manner and out-of-the-box approach to medicine.
“I always knew I wanted to take care of people,” he says, “and today, when I think back to that show, it was his humanism and hand-holding that moved me.” Throughout his 30-year career, Dr. DePalo has brought that tenderness and care to all his patient encounters.
Dr. DePalo earned a graduate degree in human physiology from Georgetown University following his bachelor of science degree, which he completed as an undergraduate. He completed medical school at the New York Medical College. He received his medical training during his internship and residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center and went on to do advanced training in pulmonary disease at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. He later remained at the University of Pennsylvania as a research associate. He was motivated to focus on the human airway because of how integral it is to human health and disease. “The lungs remind us that every piece is connected.”
After his fellowship, Dr. DePalo moved back to New York, first on staff at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in pulmonary with a research position in the neurobiology center. Later, he moved on to hold various leadership positions at Mount Sinai, where he was also a sought-after pulmonologist with extensive experience in complex cases and advanced diseases. DePalo is a Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Infectious Disease at Icahn School of Medicine. He is also a former director of Medical Services and founding Clinical Director of the Respiratory Institute at Sinai-National Jewish. Today, he chairs the Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, which oversees standards of use for all pharmaceutical drugs and treatments across all sites.
Over time, he realized that he missed the experience of delivering ongoing primary care—the ability to care for people when they're well, when they're worried, and when they need help to remain well. “I had an epiphany,” he says. “I was working with very sick people, and I realized: People are getting to me too late.” Recalling the advice of his mentor not to fear big life changes, he decided to return to the roots formed during his residency: internal medicine.
Dr. DePalo was most recently Medical Director of the Health Center at Hudson Yards in New York, where he was also a primary care doctor and pulmonologist. As Medical Director and a primary care doctor at Atria, Dr. DePalo brings a passion for innovation paired with deep empathy and care. “There is so much innovation happening in science as it relates to wellness and longevity,” says Dr. DePalo, “and at Atria, we have the opportunity to bring this innovation to life all under one roof. We can do true health care.”
Dr. DePalo is an avid photographer, cook, and motorcyclist, and he shares four daughters and many beautiful grandchildren with his wife, Lauren, a clinical social worker and therapist. Each year, they spend a portion of their time in Mexico, where they sponsor the education of a child at the Kin Beh School in Mayakoba.
Credentials
Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Infectious Disease
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Professor of Medicine
National Jewish Health South Denver
Chair
Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee for Mount Sinai Health Systems
Co-Founder and Medical Director
Health Center at Hudson Yards
Former Director of Medical Services and Clinical Director
Respiratory Institute, Mount Sinai
Former Director
Lung Transplant Program, Mount Sinai
Former System Clinical Director
National Jewish Health South Denver
Former Assistant Professor and Clinical Attending
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Former Owner and CEO
Park Avenue Pulmonary Practice
Awards
Jacobi Medallion
Mount Sinai
Special Recognition Award for Advancing the Speciality of Emergency Medicine
Voluntary Teaching Award
Icahn School of Medicine Department of Medicine
Gold Award for Humanism in Medicine
Arnold P. Gold Foundation
Top Doctors: 2016, 2018-2024
New York Magazine
America's Top Doctors: 2016-2021
Castle Connolly
Top Doctors New York Metro Area: 2016-2023
Castle Connolly
Affiliations
Elected Member
World Association for Bronchology
Former UNOS-certified Physician
Mount Sinai
Founding Member
PERT Mount Sinai Hospital
Former President
Mount Sinai Medical Board
Former President
Association of Attending Staff, Mount Sinai Hospital
Member of the Executive Committee
Association of Attending Staff, Mount Sinai Hospital
Elected Member and Former President of Iota Chapter
Alpha Omega Alpha