Thomas C. Dispenza, MD

About Me

Born and raised in western New York State, Dr. Dispenza studied undergraduate biology (biochemistry) and philosophy at Cornell University and earned his MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine before completing a Categorical Pediatrics Residency at Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio, and a Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. There, he received a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop microcomputed tomography as a tool for studying cardiac architecture. Subsequently, Dr. Dispenza accepted his present position at Penn State Health Children's Hospital with the intention of focusing primarily on clinical medicine and secondarily on clinical research.

Dr. Dispenza practices general Pediatric Cardiology, but with a special passion for providing care to syndromic patients and/or those with lipid (LDL and/or triglyceride) disorders and/or systemic hypertension (high blood pressure). Did you know that more than one in 230 healthy looking teens has a heritable, highly-treatable, and easily-found cholesterol disease that's rarely checked in primary care screenings? Has your 9-11 year old been among the lucky few screened? Decades of lifespan may ride on the answer! Dr. Dispenza has enhanced Preventive Cardiology services at Penn State Health Children's Hospital. He also collaborates with other Lipidologists through the Pediatric Atherosclerosis Prevention and Lipidology Group of the National Lipid Association.

Dr. Dispenza manages the inpatient services of the Children's Heart Group six weeks a year and sees outpatients four days per week, where his patients benefit from his detailed approach to care. He's active in telehealth. Additionally, he lectures to third-year medical student on Pediatric Cardiology. His academic interests include expanding screening for dyslipidemias in childhood.