Dr. Spagnolo is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is the former Director of the Division of Pulmonary Diseases and Allergy at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences (1976-1993) and during this same period, he was also the Chief of the Pulmonary Section at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Dr. Spagnolo recently retired from the VA Medical Center, Washington DC after fifty years of federal service, forty-seven of those occurring at the VA-DC facility, following two years on active duty with United States Public Health Service during the build-up for the war in Vietnam.  During his many years at the DC VA Medical Center, Dr. Spagnolo served as Chief of Pulmonary Medicine (1976-1993), and served as Chief of Staff. He was the Medical Director for Respiratory Therapy for decades.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Dr. Spagnolo received his undergraduate degree from Washington and Jefferson College and his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine. He professionally trained in Internal Medicine at Boston City Hospital & the Veterans Administration Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Subsequently, he was a Harvard Fellow in Pulmonary Diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Diseases. His military service as a US Public Service Officer was spent at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since 1972 Dr. Spagnolo held many academic and administrative appointments at both the Department of Veterans Affairs and George Washington University.  He continues to be involved in numerous professional and community associations and his research and publication efforts emphasize the focus of an individual dedicated to training and continuing education for all.

As a clinician, Dr. Spagnolo has a worldwide reputation as a therapist and consultant.  In 1981, he served as the medical chest consultant in the care of President Ronald Reagan following the attempted assassination.  He was also a consultant in the care of Pope John Paul following the attempted assassination.

His involvement was reviewed in Mortal Presidency by Robert Gilbert, Basic Books, New York, NY, 1992 & more recently on Fox Sunday News (See video to right).

As a medical consultant, he has served an international patient community in Europe and the Middle East. His consulting activities are numerous and have included the Will Rogers Institute and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He has also served as a consultant to the White House physicians, Drs. Burton Lee and Lawrence Mohr, Jr. during the presidency of George Bush. As a teacher, he has personally directed the training of nearly 100 pulmonary specialists and critical care specialists.

As a researcher, he has directed major research projects funded by foundations and grants, supervised the publication of numerous medical journal publications, three textbooks and a number of book chapters. Dr. Spagnolo’s leadership responsibilities have been significant. He has served as President of the District of Columbia Thoracic Society, President of the National Association of Veterans Affairs Physicians & Dentists, and served for five years as the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) Governor for the District of Columbia. He served on the editorial Board of CHEST, the official journal of the ACCP from 2002 to 2006. He has testified before the US Congress on various issues related to health care policy and quality of care.

Dr. Spagnolo’s long and distinguished academic career and his dedication to clinical care of patients, teaching, and research has given him extensive experience in participating in conferences around the world as well as numerous radio and television appearances. Because of these interests, he founded the Foundation for Veterans’ Health Care in 1997. Dr. Spagnolo is listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America. . Dr. Spagnolo married the Hon. Dorcas R. Hardy, former Commissioner of Social Security. Dr. Spagnolo is currently in private medical practice in Washington, DC.