W. Jeffrey Elias attended Wake Forest University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and was awarded a scholarship for undergraduate research in chemistry. He completed medical school at the University of Virginia, and then entered neurosurgical training with John Jane, MD, PhD. As a resident, Dr. Elias completed an intramural fellowship in neuropathology and served for a year as a senior registrar at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth England. Following residency, he completed a fellowship in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery under the mentorship of Kim Burchiel, MD.

Dr. Elias has been on the faculty of the University of Virginia since 2002 and received the Excellence in Clinical Medicine award in 2006. He has a busy clinical practice in the surgical treatment of movement disorders, epilepsy, spasticity, chronic pain disorders, and peripheral nerve injuries. His research interest is the application of convection-enhanced delivery for the treatment of movement disorders.