Elise Desperito, MA, MD

Radiologist

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Breast Imaging

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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Director of Breast Imaging, Ralph Lauren Cancer Center
Get To Know Me

I have spent the last 18 years teaching medical students, radiology residents, and breast imaging fellows at a major academic center while working as a breast imager and leading a division of breast imaging for much of that time. I am a chosen member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society and am committed to the practice of patient-centered care.

I have come to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) to continue to do the important work of diagnosing breast cancer, but also to help expand MSK’s Breast Screening Program and outreach to underserved women. 

My Role at MSK

A radiologist is a doctor with special training in using imaging to diagnose and treat disease. Imaging includes X-rays, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Breast Imaging
Education & Honors

Education

  • MA, English, Georgetown University
  • MD, Georgetown University

Residencies

  • Diagnostic Radiology, Georgetown University

Awards and Honors

  • Distinguished Educator Award, New York Roentgen Society (2022)
  • Inducted Member, Academy of Clinical Excellence, Columbia University Irving Medical Center (2020)
  • Inducted Member, Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, Presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (2019)

Fellowships

  • Body Imaging, Georgetown University

Board Certifications

  • Radiology

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield New York

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

Blue Cross Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

MSK has a tentative agreement with Cigna to continue coverage in 2024.

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

Current Patients

Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Desperito sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
West Harrison, NY
500 Westchester Avenue West Harrison NY 10604

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Breast Imaging Service doctors

Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Desperito E, Schwartz L, Capaccione KM, Collins BT, Jamabawalikar S, Peng B, Patrizio R, Salvatore MM. Chest CT for Breast Cancer Diagnosis. Life (Basel). 2022 Oct 26;12(11):1699. doi: 10.3390/life12111699. PMID: 36362854; PMCID: PMC9695285.

Capaccione KM, Huang S, Deng A, West E, Salvatore MM, Desperito E. The Impact of External Events on Trends in Breast Imaging. J Radiol Med Imaging. 2022; 5(1): 1065.

Sun S, Mutasa S, Liu MZ, Nemer J, Sun M, Siddique M, Desperito E, Jambawalikar S, Ha RS. Deep learning prediction of axillary lymph node status using ultrasound images. Comput Biol Med. 2022 Jan 24;143:105250. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105250. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35114444.

Read more

Liu MZ, Swintelski C, Sun S, Siddique M, Desperito E, Jambawalikar S, Ha R. Weakly Supervised Deep Learning Approach to Breast MRI Assessment. Acad Radiol. 2022 Jan;29 Suppl 1:S166-S172. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2021.03.032. Epub 2021 Jun 6. PMID: 34108114.

Capaccione KM, Yang H, West E, Patel H, Ma H, Patel S, Fruauff A, Loeb G, Maddocks A, Borowski A, Lala S, Nguyen P, Lignelli A, D’souza B, Desperito E, Ruzal-Shapiro C, Salvatore MM. Pathophysiology and Imaging Findings of COVID-19 Infection: An Organ-system Based Review. Acad Radiol. 2021 May;28(5):595-607. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2021.01.022. Epub 2021 Feb 4. PMID: 33583712; PMCID: PMC7859715.

Austin JD, Agovino M, Rodriguez CB, Terry MB, Shelton RC, Wei Y, Desperito E, Schmitt KM, Kukafka R, Tehranifar P. Breast Density Awareness and Knowledge in a Mammography Screening Cohort of Predominantly Hispanic Women: Does Breast Density Notification Matter? Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2021 Oct;30(10):1913-1920. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0172. Epub 2021 Aug 4. PMID: 34348958; PMCID: PMC8492494.

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Desperito’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed