Benjamin G. Neel

Benjamin G. Neel (born 1956) is an American cancer biologist and a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health. He served as Director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health from 2015 to 2023, and formerly served as the Director of Research for Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and a Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Royal Society of Canada.

Early life and education Neel was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania but grew up in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Shortly following his birth in 1956, Neel's parents divorced and he grew up with his mother who worked as a bookkeeper. While a student at Cherry Hill High School East, Neel was selected to present his original research at the Monmouth Junior Science Symposium in 1972 and 1973. Following his junior year, Neel participated in a National Science Foundation program in biochemistry. Upon returning home, his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, which sparked his interest in becoming a cancer researcher.

Following high school, Neel completed his Bachelor's degree at Cornell University in 1977 and his PhD in viral oncology at Rockefeller University. Neel returned to Cornell for his medical degree, which he earned in 1983. While serving in these roles, Neel continued to conduct research on gene mutations. In 2002, Neel and co-senior author Barbara B. Kahn identified a protein that enables the body to overcome resistance to the hormone leptin. In 2006, he was one of the lead scientists who discovered that mutations in the SOS1 gene account for many cases of Noonan syndrome.

In 2006, Neel was recruited from Harvard to serve as the Director of the Ontario Cancer Institute at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. His research at the University of Toronto helped to unravel cell signaling pathways involved in developmental disease which resulted in new therapeutic approaches to cancers caused by KRAS mutations. He also contributed to the greater understanding on the functional genomics of breast cancer and generated new models of ovarian cancer.

Neel eventually returned to the United States in 2014 to serve as Director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health.

On November 1, 2023, members of the NYU Langone Health community were informed via email that Neel had, effective immediately, been suspended from his position as Director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center. Neel is suing the hospital for wrongful dismissal.

Personal life Neel and his wife Phyllis Koton Neel have three daughters together: Jaclyn, Dana, and Caroline.