Jeff Neil, MD, PhD, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended St. Ignatius Jesuit High School; the same high school attended by Mike Noetzel, MD, former Director of Pediatric Neurology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Neil and Mike didn’t cross paths at school, as Mike played football and Neil played trombone, though Neil did attend every football game for four years as a member of the marching band.
Neil attended Washington University as an undergrad. He joined a research lab as a freshman to buff up his resume for applying to medical school and was pleasantly surprised to discover that he really enjoyed research. Thus, he applied and was accepted to the WashU Medicine MD/PhD program, where he obtained his PhD in a neuroanatomy lab studying the central autonomic nervous system and blood pressure control.
Neil has spent his entire professional career, aside from five years in Boston, at WashU Medicine. He did Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology training at Washington University. Immediately after residency training, he joined the preclinical MRI lab of Joe Ackerman, PhD, who was chairman of Chemistry and with whom he continues to collaborate to this day. During this training, his initial application for membership in the Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine was rejected. He reapplied and was eventually accepted. In an instance of gross overcompensation, he then rose through the ranks to serve a term as president of this society. When his term as president ended, the incoming president, in his inaugural address, delighted in slowly scrolling Neil’s rejection letter on the conference room screen while admonishing the audience to never give up.
On the clinical side, he has a deep interest in Neonatal Neurology. His inpatient attending duties involve the neurology consult services in the NICU or PICU. His outpatient duties are primarily NICU follow ups, and it is rare for him to care for a patient who is old enough to talk. His research is closely related to his clinical practice and involves studying brain development and injury in both babies and animal models using magnetic resonance methods.
He has raised two sons and three stepchildren and has five grandchildren he cherishes. He feels privileged to have been adopted into the ICU culture to help care for critically ill patients and their families. He also deeply appreciates the people he works with, including residents, faculty and staff, who make work a pleasure.