Neal is Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and an Academic Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon based at the University of Glasgow, specializing in shoulder surgery and tendon injuries having completed fellowships in Sydney and New York.

His research has highlighted the role of inflammation and cytokines in tendon disease, in addition to the role of microRNA in the post transcriptional regulation of collagen synthesis and immediate tissue repair processes implicated in tendinopathy. He has secured peer reviewed funding for his work by the Wellcome Trust, Arthritis Research UK, The Scottish Funding Council, Chief Scientific Office Scotland and Scottish Enterprise. 

Neal earned both his MBChB and his PhD in Immunology at the University of Glasgow, and completed his Fellowship in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.