Michael Neuss

Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine in Public Health
Hospitalist/Historian of science and medicine

Dr. Michael J. Neuss is thrilled to join the faculty of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health, with a focus on hospital medicine. He completed medical school at Duke University and residency at Vanderbilt University. Prior to medical school, he took a PhD in history at Columbia University. Specific areas of interest were the history of science and medicine, as well as early modern European history. A Richard Hofstadter fellowship supported his doctoral studies. The focus of his dissertation was William Harvey's description of the systemic circulation of blood (ca. 1620s). Dr. Neuss's current research is on the early history (ca. 1960s-1970s) of what we now call the electronic health record. His interest in the history of medicine also extends to a number of smaller educational projects around the school of medicine, as well as extramural commitments including participation on the editorial committee for the journal CHEST’s new “Humanities in Chest Medicine” section.

Beginning in the fall 2021 semester Dr. Neuss and Dr. Laura Stark (Department of Medicine, Health, and Society) will be co-instructing a history of medicine seminar for third- and fourth-year medical students. Drs. Neuss and Stark will also be supervising medical students who are pursuing research in the history of medicine. Students interested in the elective or research in the history of medicine are encouraged to contact Dr. Neuss directly with questions. 

Dr. Neuss also has broad interests in medical education and quality improvement. He was the editor-in-chief of the inaugural edition of Vanderbilt’s internal medicine residency handbook, which provides specific, systems-based guidance for residents (and especially new interns) on clinical practice at VUMC and the Nashville VA. A web version is available at http://www.VIMBook.org.