Jose Javier Provencio, MD
Neurocritical Care
Bio & Overview
Jose Javier Provencio, MD, the Louise Nerancy Professor in Neurology, is a neurocritical care physician specializing in the treatment of severe neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury and subarachnoid hemorrhage.
His research focuses on understanding the role of inflammation in brain conditions and exploring strategies to reduce complications after a brain injury. He also looks for treatments for late complications for aneurysm ruptures in the brain.
“Treating patients and finding treatments for diseases is a calling I’ve had since my early life,” he says. “I appreciate getting to know patients and families and helping them navigate difficult times. Families are an important part of the care team in the neuroscience intensive care unit.”
Provencio was born a Spanish citizen and became a U.S. citizen in 1981. He grew up in central Pennsylvania and earned an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College near Philadelphia. He earned his medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey and completed an internship in internal medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his residencies in neurology and internal medicine and fellowships in medical critical care and neurocritical care at UVA Health.
He is an educator at the local and national level and has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Neurocritical Care Society. Other involvements include or have included: membership on NIH study sections and editorial board membership for the Journal of Neuroinflammation and Neurocritical Care.
Academic Information
- Department
- Neurology
- Academic Role
- Professor
- Division
- Neurology
- Research Interests
- Inflammation after brain injuries, Treatments for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, Understanding and treating Disorders of Consciousness including Coma.
- Gender
- Male
- Languages
- Spanish, English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- Pennsylvania State University
- Residency
- University of Virginia School of Medicine
- Fellowships
- University of Virginia School of Medicine
- Certification
- American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Neurocritical Care), American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Neurology)
- Appointment
- Division Head, Hospital Neurology - Neurology , Medical Director, Nerancy Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NNICU) and Neurointermediate Care Unit (NIMU) - Neurology
Highlights
Dr. Jose Provencio profile video
My name is Javier Provencio. I am an intensive care doctor in the Nerancy Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, and the medical director of the unit. We take care of patients in a broad gamut of diseases. All the way from having patients who come from surgery, complicated brain surgery or spine surgery and come to the intensive care unit for their post operative stay, to patients who either have brain trauma or who have attacks, such as strokes and bleeds in their brain. My area of expertise is in aneurysm rupture patients, subroactive hemorrhage patients, and their treatment after their surgery to secure the aneurysm. Even though a lot of the things that we do are similar to things that other hospitals, other big hospitals do, the quality of the people around, the smarts of the people around really makes it different. In the ICU, it's clearly a team effort. We have pharmacists, nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians at multiple different levels, and teams that are there 24 hours a day to care for the patient and these families' loved ones. I'm really passionate about taking care of families and patients. A lot of our patients, because they have brain injuries, can't talk to us. And the relationships we develop are really strong relationships with families. And having a guide to help them through that process, not just to help the patient get better, but also help the families readjust to a new life with a patient who now has an illness is a really important job and it's one that I'm really proud of.
Awards
- Austen L. Dunn Chair of Research, Brain Aneurysm Foundation 2025-2026
- Avant-Garde Health Research All-Stars top 3% Neurology researchers 2025
- 2017-2020 Best Doctors in America® List
- Louise Nerancy Endowed Chair in Neurology 2015- present
- Cynthia Lynn Sherwin Chair of Research, Brain Aneurysm Foundation 2010-2011