Juan Luis Alcala Zermeno, MD

Neurology
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Overview

After obtaining his medical degree from the Universidad de Guadalajara with the Dean´s Mention of Outstanding Academic Performance, Luis Alcala completed his Adult Neurology residency training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He then moved to the East Coast to complete fellowship training in Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He is passionate about the diagnosis and surgical treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy and how much can epilepsy surgery improve the quality of life of patients when used properly. Dr. Alcala is a native Spanish speaker.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Drug resistant epilepsy
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG)
  • Epilepsy
  • Epilepsy/Seizure Disorders

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Neurology at CUMC

Languages

  • English
  • Spanish

Gender

  • Male

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Location(s)

CUIMC/Neurological Institute of New York
710 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
Phone:
646-426-3876
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ColumbiaDoctors - Columbus Circle
5 Columbus Cir
New York, NY 10019
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Insurance Accepted

Aetna

Affinity Health Plan

Amida Care

Cigna

Emblem/GHI

Emblem/HIP

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

Fidelis Care

Healthfirst

Local 1199

MagnaCare (National)

Medicare

Multiplan

MVP Health Care

RiverSpring

UnitedHealthcare

VNSNY CHOICE

WellCare

World Trade Center Health Plan

*Before your appointment, please contact the doctor’s office or your insurance provider to verify that your insurance is accepted. This list of insurances can change, and the insurance plans listed may not be accepted at all office locations for this provider.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MD, 2017 Universidad de Guadalajara – Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
  • Internship: 2019 Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN
  • Residency: 2022 Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN
  • Fellowship: 2023 Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
  • Fellowship: 2024 Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Honors & Awards

Young Investigator Award, American Epilepsy Society, 2023

Research

Since the beginning of his Adult Neurology Residency, Luis Alcala became involved in epilepsy surgery clinical research, mainly focusing on outcomes of invasive neuromodulation for treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy cases not amenable to resective surgery. During fellowship he expanded his interests beyond the outcomes of epilepsy surgery and on to the racial and socioeconomic disparities that curtail access to it. As clinician-researchers, quantifying the issues involved in access to epilepsy surgery is not enough as we need develop a deeper sense of the reasons behind such disparities, which may be better studied by means of a qualitative lens.

Besides assessing epilepsy surgery outcomes, Dr. Alcala’s research tries to leverage mixed methods to delineate the key factors involved in the unequal access to epilepsy surgery.

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov(link is external and opens in a new window)