Inside Biograph NYC, a Medical Clinic That Wants to Save Your Life

Crossing the threshold at the New York City outpost of Biograph—a high-end diagnostic clinic that opened here this spring—feels like stepping into a different world.

Outside, visitors are surrounded by the bustling energy of the Big Apple. Inside, the design triggers an automatic reset: The foyer is a calming space with slatted wood walls and a lofty ceiling, outfitted with what is essentially a moat and scented with Aesop’s alluring Istros room spray.

It’s an impressive configuration designed not only to impress, but also to shift the way you think about going to the doctor’s office. The clinic, which had previously been operating in stealth mode from its home base in San Francisco’s Bay Area, wants to separate itself from both standard medical experiences and other concierge wellness programs. To do this, it offers a range of detailed diagnostics, selected and fine-tuned to uncover what other tests might miss. The battery of over 30 tests includes everything from grip-strength exams and movement analysis to MRI scans and neurocognitive evaluations.

“What’s really important if we’re going to positively influence people’s wellness?” says Dr. Michael Doney, Biograph’s executive medical director, when asked what influenced the selection of these tests. “We’re really looking to uncover hidden risk.”

The goal of catching medical issues early is part of the clinic’s founding ethos. Biograph got its start in 2017 when a friend of businessman John Hering was diagnosed with cancer. Herring partnered with Dr. Peter Attia, a world-renowned physician and author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, in the hopes of helping others avoid such unwelcome surprises. Since then, its San Mateo outpost has largely grown by word of mouth.

Doney, who’d previously spent time at the Centers for Disease Control and also worked as an emergency room doctor, says the New York location brings everything he and his team have learned over the last eight years into full flower. It offers two levels of memberships: a Core tier, priced at $7,500 a year, that offers a comprehensive picture of your current health, and a more-detailed Black tier, set at $15,000 annually, that delivers ongoing guidance for improving your health.

“Since our beginning, about 15 percent of our members have found urgent or life-altering results that have really significantly influenced their wellness and healthy aging,” Doney says, adding that his team has discovered everything from serious narrowing of major arteries to rare cancer risks that standard exams aren’t equipped to find.

That it can do all this in a beautiful environment is a testament to how well-choreographed the experience at Biograph is. Inside, each of the private members’ suites is outfitted with a fully stocked snack bar and a shower room with a wall of live plants. The hallways are dotted with live trees and other greenery, which gives the space a fresh, natural feeling that contrasts soothingly with what’s outside. What’s more, appointments are scheduled and staggered so that members never actually encounter other patients.

That’s important, since walking through the hallways from testing room to testing room can feel a little like being in an Aaron Sorkin show. There are separate rooms for everything from a DEXA scan to measure members’ body compositions, to a movement studio where therapists can analyze your gait and balance.

But perhaps the most impressive space here is the proprietary MRI room, which offers a full-body scan that’s even more detailed than the standalone tests that have recently become popular.

“We thought it very important that we have a number of subspecialty radiologists that interpret this scan and lend their expertise,” Doney says. A neuroradiologist analyzes the results from your head, neck, and spine, while a body radiologist examines other areas. There’s even a third for quality assurance. “That’s the level of rigor that we think is appropriate,” he adds.

Whether other Biograph locations will open in due course remains to be seen. In the meantime, Doney hopes to continue to make the clinic’s offerings better and better as longevity science advances.

“We are working to be the preeminent preventive health and diagnostics platform,” Doney says. Certainly, expansion is in our DNA. It’s something that we’re thinking about, both domestically and internationally. For now, though, “We’re just really working to continue to deliver these wellness benefits to our members.”