The Smile, the Brain, the Heart
The smile hits you first. Then the brain. In time, the goodness.
The smile is welcoming and warm, interested, and curious, awaiting wonders.
The brain is not like ours. It is dreaming of a rotating universe with paths in space-time that return to their starting point and mathematically allow instant travel throughout the galaxies. But because he chose medicine and not physics, he now dreams of a library filled with viruses, CRISPRs and ASOs, one for each variant of each genetic disease, available to cure every genetic disease in the fetus.
Dr. Vinodh Narayanan is a kind and gentle soul with extraordinary empathy for his fellow human beings. He gives from his heart to all: patients, students, colleagues, friends, and family. There is no limit to his loyalty, commitment to truth and moral conscience. He is a man who, after a difficult appointment, helps carry your children to the car.* Who calls late at night to make sure a parent understands the genetics of her child’s diagnosis. Who runs marathons, tends gardens, and gently hyperventilates when someone mishandles radioactive material in his lab.
Dr. Narayanan loves tennis. He started playing as a child and is beautifully graceful on the court, swift and strong with a compact, effortless stroke. He destroys hackers like me, but gently and with a smile. He is, however, fiercely competitive with real opponents, always respectful, acknowledging good play but out there to win. The same fighting spirit is present at work, fully engaged in the service of the patients, inspiring learners in the clinic and the lab, and in making new scientific discoveries. He is also a gifted cook (his dosas are legendary), a Steelers fan, and a man who begins his days with mountain hikes.
Personal Background and Journey to Neurology
Born in Madurai, India, in 1951, Dr. Narayanan grew up on the campus of Christian College in Tambaram, the son of an experimental embryologist and a geneticist. His family came to the United States in 1965, settling in St. Louis. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Washington University and an MA in physics from Princeton. But physics gave way to medicine—nudged by family, inspired by mentors, and pulled by a desire to help people. He graduated from LSU Medical School in 1981 and trained at Johns Hopkins, Barnes, and St. Louis Children’s with the greats of child neurology: Volpe, Prensky, and Dodge.
Service to the Child Neurology Society
Dr. Narayanan has been a devoted member of the Child Neurology Society for nearly four decades. He served on the Research Committee (1993–95), the Scientific Selection Committee (1995–2010), and as Chair of the Scientific Selection and Program Planning Committee (2007–09). From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the CNS Executive Board, and from 2014 to 2017, served on the International Affairs Committee.
He was instrumental in shaping the scientific programs of multiple CNS annual meetings and has been a consistent advocate for integrating neurogenetics and rare disease research into the Society’s priorities. He has represented CNS in international forums, lecturing in India, Europe, and across North America, and mentoring a generation of physician-scientists drawn to the intersection of genetics and neurology.
He has always made junior colleagues feel seen and valued. At CNS meetings, he insists they be introduced as peers, not subordinates. He leads with warmth and humility, never showboating, always lifting others.
Commitment to Teaching
Dr. Narayanan has taught everywhere he’s been—from Pittsburgh to Phoenix, from the wards to the lab bench to the lecture hall. His teaching spans pediatrics, neurology, genetics, and translational science, and he has trained medical students, residents, graduate students, and postdocs.
Colleagues describe him as a patient, Socratic, and insightful mentor. He listens closely, invites questions, and answers with clarity. He has helped launch dozens of careers in academic medicine and research, especially in the neurogenetics of rare childhood disorders.
He shows students, in his words, “the light”—gently nudging them toward child neurology as a calling. His impact is deeply personal: one mentee describes him as a father figure, another recalls tears in his eyes when speaking of patients.
Research and Innovation
A pioneer in the molecular genetics of neurologic disease, Dr. Narayanan has made foundational contributions to our understanding of leukodystrophies, Rett syndrome, tuberous sclerosis complex, and other neurogenetic disorders.
He has served as principal investigator on over 25 funded research projects from the NIH, DoD, private foundations, and industry. He won the CNS Young Investigator Award, was an early leader in integrating genomics into clinical care, and established one of the first multidisciplinary clinics focused on rare genetic diseases: The Center for Rare Childhood Disorders at TGen in Phoenix.
His scientific output includes over 100 peer-reviewed publications. He served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Child Neurology, Journal of Pediatric Neurology, and Pediatric Neurology, and has been a reviewer for more than a dozen leading journals.
One colleague recalls his early days at Hopkins, where he cloned the P2 myelin gene—years before it was linked to CMT. Another cites his rare blend of physics precision and humanistic devotion, always hunting for a diagnosis when none is obvious.
Legacy and Plans
Dr. Narayanan is a scientist, healer, and teacher. He builds bridges between disciplines and across cultures. He has helped thousands of children and families facing the most difficult diagnoses. He has inspired students to see medicine not only as science and service but as a calling.
His life and career reflect a deep integration of intellect and compassion, rigor and wonder, science and soul. At the center is a powerful and joyous marriage. Vinodh and Chitra have enjoyed a 50-year partnership built on mutual respect, support and guidance, shared goals, family values, and love.
Looking ahead, Dr. Narayanan envisions creating a “Lifetime Neurological Care” center for patients of all ages, integrating neurogenetics into adult neurology programs, advancing population-based screening for inherited neurological disorders, and developing a library of neurogenetic therapies.
And now, as he begins to wind down his private practice, his patients cry with gratitude. They know what they’re losing—and they know what he has given.
*Italics are quotes from his patients and colleagues