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Ali Seifi, MD, FNCS, FCCM

Division Chief of Neurocritical Care

Director, Neuro ICU

Neurocritical Care Fellowship Director (UCNS & CAST)

Ali Seifi, MD, FNCS, FCCM, is the Division Chief of Neurocritical Care, Director of the Neuro–Intensive Care Unit, and a tenured Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). He has served as an attending physician since 2012 and holds cross-appointments in the Departments of Neurology, Anesthesiology, and Internal Medicine. Dr. Seifi is also the Neurocritical Care Fellowship Program Director, with accreditation through both the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) and CAST, and serves as a member-at-large on the Neurocritical Care Board Examination Committee.

Dr. Seifi oversees the clinical care and daily operations of University Hospital’s state-of-the-art Neuro-ICU, the only intensive care unit in the region fully dedicated to the care of neurologically critically ill patients. The unit is staffed by physicians and nurses with specialized training in the management of complex brain, spine, and nervous system disorders, serving as a regional referral center for advanced neurocritical care.

He received his medical degree with honors from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 1996. He completed residency training in Anesthesiology and Critical Care, followed by a second residency in Internal Medicine at AtlantiCare Medical Center in New Jersey. He then completed an advanced two-year Neurocritical Care Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr. Seifi is triple board-certified in Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, and Neurocritical Care.

Dr. Seifi’s clinical interests focus on the care of critically ill neurologic patients, with particular emphasis on complex neurosurgical and medical neurocritical care. He is deeply committed to medical education and has been recognized repeatedly for teaching excellence. He has received multiple Excellence in Teaching awards from medical students and, in 2023, was honored with the Star Educator Award by the Academy of Educational Scholars at UT Health San Antonio.

In addition to his clinical and educational leadership, Dr. Seifi is highly active in research and medical innovation. He serves as principal investigator on multiple clinical research projects and holds several patents. He is the inventor of the Forced Inspiratory Suction and Swallow Tool (FISST), a non-pharmacologic device for terminating transient hiccups, which successfully advanced to commercial production as HiccAway. This device demonstrated over 90% effectiveness in a clinical trial published in JAMA in 2021 and was featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, resulting in a successful investment partnership with Mark Cuban.

Dr. Seifi is also engaged in the design and development of medical devices in collaboration with engineering experts, including joint projects with UTSA engineering faculty, and has patented an induced hypothermia machine calibration system developed in collaboration with biomedical engineering experts at UT Austin. Additionally, he holds a patent for an innovative therapeutic approach to anti–NMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis.