Dr. Neal Stuart Young is a preeminent hematologist and leading authority in the field of bone marrow failure diseases with a distinguished five-decade career at the National Institutes of Health. He currently serves as Chief of the Hematology Branch at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Director of the Center for Human Immunology at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. After earning his A.B. cum laude from Harvard College in 1967 and his M.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1971, he completed post-graduate medical training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Barnes Hospital at Washington University in St Louis before joining the NHLBI in 1981. Dr. Young has spent his entire career within the NIH Intramural Research Program, establishing himself as a world-renowned expert in blood disorders through his exceptional contributions to clinical hematology and translational research.
Dr. Young's groundbreaking work fundamentally transformed the understanding and treatment of aplastic anemia, demonstrating its immune-mediated pathophysiology and pioneering immunotherapeutic approaches that have dramatically improved patient outcomes. He directed the first multicenter clinical trial using antithymocyte globulin for aplastic anemia in the United States, establishing what is now the worldwide standard treatment for this life-threatening condition. His research has elevated survival rates from approximately 10% in the early 1980s to over 90% today, directly saving thousands of lives globally through his innovative therapeutic strategies. Beyond aplastic anemia, Dr. Young has made significant contributions to understanding parvovirus B19 infection pathophysiology and discovered that telomerase mutations serve as risk factors for acute myeloid leukemia and hepatic cirrhosis.
As a master educator and mentor, Dr. Young has trained numerous hematologists who now lead departments worldwide, profoundly influencing the global approach to blood disorders through his extensive teaching and collaborative efforts. He pioneered innovative single cell genomic studies in bone marrow failure diseases and was part of the NIH team that discovered VEXAS syndrome, expanding the understanding of autoinflammatory conditions. His laboratory continues to advance the field through cutting-edge techniques including single cell RNAseq, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, and deep proteomics analysis of patient samples from one of the world's largest clinics for bone marrow failure disorders. With over 280 original scientific publications, more than 160 reviews and book chapters, and seven patents related to B19 parvovirus, Dr. Young remains at the forefront of hematology research, driving new discoveries that continue to transform clinical practice for patients with life-threatening blood disorders worldwide.
