Robert J. Cerfolio (MD, MBA) is an American thoracic surgeon and hospital administrator. He is a Professor and the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at NYU Langone Health, where he also serves as the Director of Quality for Cardiothoracic Care. He has previously held senior administrative positions at the institution, including Executive Vice President, Vice Dean, and Chief Operating Officer.
Through the Rochester Early Selection Program, Cerfolio matriculated at the University of Rochester Medical School, earning his Doctor of Medicine in 1988. He later enhanced his expertise in healthcare leadership by completing a Physician Executive Master of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business in 2014.
He continued his general surgery training at the Mayo Clinic, completing postgraduate years four and five by 1993. He then completed a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in 1996, developing specialized knowledge in thoracic surgical procedures.
Cerfolio is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery (1994) and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (1997). He holds medical licenses in New York (since 1990) and Alabama (since 1996).
Robert James Cerfolio joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1996 and became Chief of Thoracic Surgery in 2000. He has been recertified in general surgery (2004) and thoracic surgery (2006, 2023). He was named the James H. Estes Family Endowed Chair for Lung Cancer Research in 2010, focusing on lung cancer and robotic-assisted surgery.
From 2015, Cerfolio has shown his administrative leadership responsibilities, serving as Chairman of the Executive Business Intelligence Team at UAB. He has also been involved in national and international surgical leadership conferences.
In 2016, he was one of five U.S. thoracic delegates to participate in the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Chinese Focus Leadership Meeting. Cerfolio has also been committed to mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows, with a particular focus on robotic-assisted thoracic surgery techniques.
His teaching contributions at UAB were recognized with the establishment of the Robert J. Cerfolio Teaching Award in 2017. He later joined NYU Langone Health, where he served in senior executive roles, including Chief Operating Officer from 2018 to 2022.
Cerfolio created the Efficiency Quality Index (EQI), a performance-measurement system that provides department- and procedure-specific data on outcomes such as mortality, readmissions, operative time, and costs. The system has been used to monitor and improve clinical performance across NYU Langone.
Since he became Chief of Thoracic Surgery in 2018, the program has risen from #34 to #1 nationally in U.S. News & World Report rankings. The cardiac surgery program also moved from unranked to #1 in 2025.
His work includes authorship of three books, such as Super Performing at Work and Home: The Athleticism of Surgery and Life (2014), Solving the American Healthcare Crisis (2017), and Inspire (2018).
He focused on operational efficiency, quality metrics, and workforce engagement. In November 2022, the Director of Quality Outcomes for NYU Langone Health. Cerfolio has been described as one of the most experienced robotic thoracic surgeons worldwide, performing high surgical volumes and contributing to the development of protocols for minimally invasive lung and esophageal procedures.
In addition to his administrative work, Cerfolio has performed over 20,000 thoracic operations, with more than 3,000 conducted robotically, and has published widely on thoracic surgical techniques and outcomes.
Beyond his books, Cerfolio has published peer-reviewed articles and editorials in thoracic surgery and healthcare management. His contributions to literature and surgical protocols have been cited in the development of national standards for robotic thoracic surgery.
Cerfolio has served on boards and committees for organizations, including the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education. He is a member of national and international professional societies in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.
Cerfolio has been recognized for his role in advancing robotic-assisted thoracic surgery in the United States. He has contributed to the adoption of these methods in both academic medical centers and community hospitals, emphasizing efficiency, patient recovery, and precision.
