Leon Herndon MD
Leon W. Herndon, Jr., MD
Professor of Ophthalmology
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina
Leon W. Herndon, Jr., MD, is Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He earned his MD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and served his internship and residency at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill. Dr. Herndon then completed a clinical fellowship in glaucoma at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Herndon is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and was a member of the first class of the Leadership Development Program. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers, lectured nationally and internationally, and has participated in several research projects related to glaucoma. He currently serves as Chief of the Glaucoma Division at the Duke University Eye Center where he has trained 79 clinical fellows. Dr. Herndon has been recognized for his service in the community by receiving the Senior Achievement Award from the AAO and the Dedicated Humanitarian Service Award presented by Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic, on the occasion of the 2nd Ophthalmology Mission in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Herndon is the recipient of the Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award from the UNC School of Medicine, and was the Surgery Day Lecturer at the American Glaucoma Society Annual Meeting in 2019. He was named to the 2021 Newsweek America’s Best Eye Doctors list (#27). He is founder of the North Carolina Glaucoma Club, and the chair of the Glaucoma Clinical Committee of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons as well as Vice President of the American Glaucoma Society.
Dr. Herndon’s research interests include studying novel treatment approaches in the diagnosis and management of glaucoma. He has ongoing research projects evaluating the high prevalence of primary open angle glaucoma in Ghana, West Africa, where he travels yearly.