Kevin J. Tracey

Kevin J. Tracey, is an American neurosurgeon, biomedical researcher, and author known for his contributions to the fields of inflammation, neuroscience, and bioelectronic medicine. He is president and chief executive officer of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, executive vice president for research at Northwell Health, and holds the Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. Tracey is also professor of neurosurgery and molecular medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell, and president of the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine. He is recognized for discovering the “inflammatory reflex”, a neural mechanism by which the vagus nerve regulates immune responses. His research established the scientific foundation for the discipline of “bioelectronic medicine”, leading to the development of implantable devices that use vagus nerve stimulation to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Early life and education

Tracey was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Boston College in 1979 and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Boston University in 1983. From 1983 to 1992 he completed his neurosurgical training at New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center under neurosurgeon, Russel Patterson. During his residency, he conducted research as a guest investigator at Rockefeller University.

Career

In 1992, Tracey joined Northwell Health, in Manhasset, New York, where he practiced neurosurgery and founded the Laboratory of Biomedical Science, later renamed the Tatyana and Alan Forman Family Laboratory of Biomedical Science. In 2005, he was appointed president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and president of the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine.
He co‑founded SetPoint Medical, a biotechnology company developing vagus nerve stimulation devices for autoimmune diseases, and co‑founded the Global Sepsis Alliance, an international non‑profit organization for sepsis awareness and prevention.
In 2021, Tracey and colleagues at the Feinstein Institutes received a five‑year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying bioelectronic medicine.

Research and scientific contributions

Tracey’s research focuses on the interaction between the nervous and immune systems, particularly the neural regulation of inflammation.

Tumor necrosis factor and HMGB1

In early studies, Tracey and his collaborators identified tumor necrosis factor as a key mediator of shock and tissue injury. They first demonstrated the anti‑inflammatory activity of monoclonal anti‑TNF antibodies, a discovery that supported the development of biologic therapies targeting TNF for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
In 1999, his team reported that high mobility group box 1 —a nuclear DNA‑binding protein—acts as a late‑phase inflammatory mediator, explaining mechanisms of sterile inflammation following trauma and sepsis.

The inflammatory reflex and vagus nerve

In the 1990s, Tracey and colleagues discovered that electrical or pharmacologic stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibits cytokine release, including TNF, through an anti‑inflammatory neural pathway. He described this mechanism as the inflammatory reflex, a bidirectional feedback circuit between the nervous and immune systems. This finding provided the conceptual basis for bioelectronic medicine, in which medical devices modulate peripheral nerve activity to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
Working with SetPoint Medical, Tracey’s discoveries contributed to development of an implantable vagus nerve stimulation system that, in 2025, became the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration‑approved bioelectronic medicine device for rheumatoid arthritis.
Later studies in Tracey’s laboratory identified neural circuits connecting the vagus nerve’s dorsal motor nucleus to the celiac–superior mesenteric ganglion complex, demonstrating parasympathetic control of sympathetic splenic neurons. Additional research revealed that choline acetyltransferase‑expressing T cells mediate neural suppression of cytokine production by releasing acetylcholine.
In May 2025, Kevin J. Tracey published The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes, a book exploring the role of the vagus nerve in regulating the immune system. Drawing from research, Tracey discusses how stimulating the vagus nerve can turn off inflammation and could offer treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, among others.

Awards and honors

Hans Wigzell Research Foundation's Science Prize
Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Honorary Doctorate, University of Fribourg
Honorary Doctorate, Karolinska Institute
Harvey Lecture Series,
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Member,
Highly Cited Researcher in Immunology, PLOS Biology, The Public Library of Science Magazine
DeWitt Stetten Jr. lectureship, National Institute of Health
Publications

Tracey has authored more than 450 peer‑reviewed papers and holds over 120 U.S. and international patents. His research has received over 130,000 citations, with an h‑index exceeding 170.

Year	Title	Publication	Author	Volume/Issue Citation
2011	Acetylcholine-synthesizing T cells relay neural signals in a vagus nerve circuit	Science	Rosas-Ballina M, Olofsson PS, Ochani M, Valdés-Ferrer SI, Levine YA, Reardon C, Tusche MW, Pavlov VA, Andersson U, Chavan S, Mak TW, Tracey KJ	10.1126/science.1209985
2003	Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha7 subunit is an essential regulator of inflammation	Nature	Wang H, Yu M, Ochani M, Amella CA, Tanovic M, Susarla S, Li JH, Wang H, Yang H, Ulloa L, Al-Abed Y, Czura CJ, Tracey KJ	10.1038/nature01339
2002	The inflammatory reflex	Nature	Tracey KJ	10.1038/nature01321
1999	HMG-1 as a late mediator of endotoxin lethality in mice	Science	Wang H, Bloom O, Zhang M, Vishnubhakat JM, Ombrellino M, Che J, Frazier A, Yang H, Ivanova S, Borovikova L, Manogue KR, Faist E, Abraham E, Andersson J, Andersson U, Molina PE, Abumrad NN, Sama A, Tracey KJ	10.1126/science.285.5425.248

Book and editorial activities

Tracey, Kevin J.. The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes. Avery..
Editor-in-chief,
Advisory Editor,
Contributing Editor,
Media and public engagement

Tracey has delivered lectures and keynote addresses internationally, including the Harvey Lecture , and presentations at the Constellation Forum and TEDMED, where he spoke on “How Electricity Could Replace Your Medications”. He has appeared on programs including The Tim Ferriss Show and The School of Greatness podcasts.