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Quick Facts

  • Hosts Monday night events with fellow FiR Sandy Valnes Quammen from Blackwell and offers strawberries and chocolate fondue
  • Leads "Social History Walking Tours" that delve into Duke campus history
Scholars@Duke Bio

Dr. Leonard E. White

Associate Professor in Neurology

My wife, Heidi White, and I live in Randolph Residence Hall. We are now in the 4th decade of our lives at Duke, with primary faculty appointments in the Duke University School of Medicine. Heidi is a geriatrician, a physician who specializes in the holistic care of the oldest older adults. I’m the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Neuroscience. I’m also the co-director of the Brain and Society theme of Bass Connections, an associated director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, and an associate director of the Duke Master of Biomedical Sciences. I teach medical neuroscience and clinical neuroanatomy in Trinity College, the School of Medicine, and Coursera. I love the brain—all brains, but especially the human brain. My current research uses ultra-high-resolution MRI and lightsheet microscopy to explore brain structure and connectivity.

Prof. Leonard (“Len”) White (he/him) is originally from Rhode Island; Dr. Heidi White (she/her) is originally from northeast Ohio. We first arrived at Duke in 1992 to begin our post-graduate fellowships in neurobiology (Len) and geriatric medicine (Heidi), and soon thereafter began our family and our faculty careers. Our children, Hannah and Jon, were both born at Duke University Hospital; Hannah is now a doctor of physical therapy and Jon is exploring graduate school and career opportunities in rural community development and regenerative farming. We have long-loved opening our home to students, faculty, and fellows from across our Duke lives. Now, we have the privilege and joy of making our home among first-year students.

In my spare time, I enjoy running, tennis, playing the classical and acoustic steel-string guitars, reading non-fiction, learning about Duke history, and leading “social history tours” of West Campus. We are members of a local church. We love the ocean and the mountains, and we love to hike, camp, backpack, and kayak. All are welcome to join me nearly every Saturday morning at 8:00 am in the beautiful Duke Forest for a “Neur-Run”: a weekly run in the forest to share thoughts about the wonders of the brain, Duke life, and life after Duke.