Neal’s interest in crop science and subsequently plant pathology began with regular child-hood visits to his Grandparents farm in his native Leicestershire. This interest continued to develop during a BSc Applied Biology degree from Liverpool Polytechnic which included a one year sandwich placement as a field trials assistant with Schering Agriculture. Following 15 months working on barley powdery mildew fungicide insensitivity at the Cambridge Lab - JIC, Neal moved north to Scotland where he studied for his PhD at SAC-Auchincruive/ University of Glasgow working on interactions between Alternaria linicola and linseed. After a two year Postdoc on diseases of pistachio at UC Davis, Neal returned back to the UK to work in the oilseeds research group at what was then IACR – Rothamsted. Current work at Rothamsted Research sees Neal working on the development of decision support systems for the main UK oilseed rape pathogens, Pyrenopeziza brassicae and Leptosphaeria maculans. He also co-ordinates the EU-funded SECURE project which aims to use innovative molecular and modelling techniques to develop strategies to increase the durability of resistance to the stem canker pathogen (L. maculans). Neal became a BSPP member in 1990.

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