Albert A. Rizzo MD, FACP, FACCP

Dr Albert A. Rizzo is Chief of the Section of Pulmonary Medicine at the Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Delaware and a member of Christiana Care Pulmonary Associates. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Medical School in Philadelphia where he obtained his medical degree(1978). His out-patient practice covers general pulmonary and sleep medicine disorders and includes a strong interest in asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary rehabilitation, lung cancer and obstructive sleep apnea. Dr Rizzo’s administrative duties include his section chief role as well as Medical Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Medical Director of the School of Respiratory Therapy. He has also served as the Principal Investigator for over 30 clinical trials in the fields of asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia and sleep apnea.

Dr Rizzo has been a volunteer with the American Lung Association (ALA) since 1984 at both the local, regional and national level. He served as Chairman of the National Board of Directors of the American Lung Association, 2011-2012. Dr Rizzo continues to serve as the Senior Medical Advisor to the national office of the American Lung Association. As a result of his involvement with the ALA, Dr Rizzo has had the opportunity to educate both patients and the public as well as fellow professionals about the importance of preventive care and healthy lifestyles (particularly the role of cigarette smoking cessation) with regard to preserving lung function over the years. In his volunteer leadership roles, he has testified before Congress on behalf of advancing lung disease research through funding of NIH and has lectured at American Lung Association meetings throughout the country. In addition to smoking cessation, tobacco control and air quality, Dr Rizzo’s topics include specific disease states such as COPD, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, and Lung Cancer. The importance of recognizing and trying to eliminate some of the health care disparities that often involve these diseases is one of his concerns.