Neurology & Neurosurgery
Michael Podell, MSc, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)
Dr. Podell is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology) with a Certificate of Recognition in Neurosurgical Expertise since 1993. Dr. Podell is from the beach resort of Wildwood, New Jersey. He received his BA in Psychology with Honors at the University of North Carolina, a Masters of Science from Tel-Aviv University in pharmacology and physiology, and his DVM degree from Tufts University in 1988. Dr. Podell completed his internship at The Animal Medical Center in New York City in 1989 and his neurology residency at The Ohio State University in 1992, where he remained as a Full Professor and Director of the Comparative Neurology Service until 2002, when he started the first neurology and neurosurgery specialty practice in Chicago.
Dr. Podell has clinical expertise in all aspects of medical and surgical neurology, with a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. He is currently an Adjunct Full Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Academy of Neurology, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and the Illinois and Chicago VMA. He has published numerous articles and book chapters and lectured worldwide on various topics in veterinary neurology and neurosurgery. He enjoys spending his free time with his family, including his dogs, Phoebe and Julie, and cats, Lucy and Desi.
Zachary Niman, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)
Dr. Niman was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He received his B.A. in Biology from Williams College in Massachusetts in 1999 and his DVM from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. Dr. Niman completed a 1-year rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery in 2006 as well as a 1-year directed neurology internship in 2007 at the Animal Emergency and Referral Center in the northern suburbs of Chicago. He completed a three year residency in neurology and neurosurgery at the North Carolina State University and became board certified in neurology in 2011.
Dr. Niman enjoys all aspects of neurology and has special interests in managing cases of refractory epilepsy as well as inflammatory central nervous system disorders. In his free time, Dr. Niman spends time with his wife, Natalie, and their family of 2 dogs and 2 cats, and he remains an avid Baltimore area sports fan.
Rebecca Windsor, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)
Dr. Rebecca Windsor was born and raised in Crystal Lake, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2001 with a B.S. in Psychobiology. Dr. Windsor attended veterinary school at the University of California Davis, graduating in 2005. Dr. Windsor then completed a one-year internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at North Carolina State University in 2006 followed by a three-year residency in Neurology and Neurosurgery at UC Davis in 2009. She became board certified in Neurology in 2009. Dr. Windsor spent four years in private practice in the Washington DC and San Francisco Bay areas before returning home to Chicago in 2013.
Dr. Windsor has a passion for complex neurological procedures including brain and spinal cord tumor removal, skull and spinal fracture repair, treatment of Wobbler’s disease and lumbosacral stenosis. Rebecca enjoys exploring the Chicago area and spending time with her husband and dog, Chester. Her favorite hobbies include running, yoga, cycling, skiing, travel and SCUBA diving.
