He earned a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy at Haverford College, where he won prizes for mathematics and chemistry. He received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the William A. Jeffers prize in neurology. Dr. Neff completed a residency in neurosurgery at Tufts / New England Medical Center and was awarded the Donaghy Prize in cerebrovascular diseases by the Montreal Neurological Society. He is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery.