Meet Dr. Cristina Boccalandro

Dr. Cristina Boccalandro is a board-certified endocrinologist with an international practice in the Texas Medical Center located in Houston, Texas. A native of Venezuela, she received her medical degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas in 1992. Upon graduation, she spent a year working as a jungle physician with the Yanomami Indians in the upper Orinoco Basin of the Amazon rainforest and considers this to be one of her proudest and most important personal experiences.

After completing her specialty training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology at McGovern Medial School (formerly The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston) in 2001, Dr. Boccalandro received a master’s degree in public health at The University of Texas School of Public Health. After serving as an assistant professor at the McGovern Medial School, she transitioned to private practice in the fall of 2007. 

Dr. Boccalandro’s passion for all things thyroid includes performing in-office ultrasounds and biopsies and, most recently, interventional endocrinology, which involves using less invasive methods for endocrine conditions that offer options other than surgery to her patients. She completed specialized training in radiofrequency ablation of the thyroid with world-renowned head and neck surgeon, Dr. Leonardo G. Rangel, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Boccalandro is the first endocrinologist in the greater Houston area to perform this innovative technique to treat thyroid nodules.

Personal Interests 

Dr. Boccalandro calls Houston home and has lived here since 1996. She enjoys traveling and trekking, and some of her recent excursions include Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Patagonia, South America, Nepal and Europe (where she did the Tour du Mont Blanc), Iceland and Banff, Canada. U.S. national parks are also a favorite on her travel itinerary. She also enjoys travel photography and sharing her pictures in the office is a great way for her to communicate calm and relaxation to her patients during their office visits.

Always one to stay active, Dr. Boccalandro is a cyclist and has completed the Texas MS 150, a 150-mile bike ride between Houston and Austin to raise funds for multiple sclerosis, more than four times.