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Leonard Edward White

Associate Professor in Neurology
Neurology, General & Community Neurology
Box 91003, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Durham, NC 27708
M056 Levine Science Research Center, 308 Research Drive, Durham, NC 27708

Research Interests


Interrogating brain structure and mapping whole-brain connectivity

Together with exceptional colleagues in the Duke Center for In Vivo Microscopy, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, and the University of Pittsburgh, we are developing state-of-the-science magnetic resonance methods for interrogating brain structure in preclinical applications that are fully compatible with  complimentary approaches, such as light sheet microscopy. These methods are combing to provide new insights into the microscopic structure of the brain, whole-brain connectivity (quantitative connectomics), and how the microscopic structure of neural tissue constrains connectivity and function in preclinical animal models of health and disease.

Selected Grants


Ultra-high Resolution Structural Connectome Atlases of the Animal Brain and their Associated Toolbox

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by University of Pittsburgh · 2022 - 2027

The Development of Direction Selectivity in Visual Cortex

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1996 - 2011

A probabilistic concept of sensory cortical function

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2003 - 2006

Local Circuits and Direction Selectivity in Visual Cortex

ResearchResearch Associate · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1996 - 2002

Direction Selectivity And Horizontal Connections In Vi

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1998 - 1999

Direction Selectivity And Horizontal Connections In V1

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1997 - 1999

External Relationships


  • Duke Coursera
  • Oxford University Press

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.