Dr. Jea attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. He then entered medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. Dr. Jea completed his residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and his spine fellowship at the University of Miami. Dr. Jea also pursued a Master’s degree in Health Administration at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana, and completed a Master’s degree of Business Administration (MBA) in the Physician MBA Program at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in May 2021.
Dr. Jea’s clinical practice includes the breadth of pediatric spinal disorders, such as spinal deformities, spinal column tumors, trauma, and congenital anomalies. He has other interests in peripheral nerve disorders, fetal neurosurgery, and spasticity. He has published over 260 peer-reviewed articles and over 40 book chapters, mainly on the topic of pediatric spine.
In 2020, Dr. Jea joined the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as Professor, Vice-Chairman, and Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital. He was subsequently named the Residency Program Director in 2022. He assumed the Department of Neurosurgery Chair as an interim role on March 1, 2024, and then on a permanent basis on August 13, 2024.
