Dr. Jim Herndon is a leading orthopaedic surgeon, educator and researcher who has made important advances in orthopaedic surgery, education, professional leadership, and patient safety.

Dr. Herndon has a special interests in degenerative diseases and trauma reconstruction of the upper extremity. He has published more than 200 papers, five books and 31 book chapters. Dr. Herndon is a frequent lecturer at scientific meetings around the world and led the first clinical trial using gene therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Herndon received his MD from UCLA in 1965 and completed his orthopaedic residency in 1970 at Children's Hospital and Mass General Hospital in Boston. From 1971 to 1973, he was a major in the US Army, serving as Chief of the Amputee Service at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, PA. He then completed a fellowship in reconstructive hand surgery in 1974 at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.

Dr. Herndon has the unique distinction of having served as President of all important Orthopaedic Societies: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and American Orthopaedic Association. He also served as chairman of the Residency Review Committee for Orthopaedic Surgery.

Prior to joining MGH in 1998, Dr. Herndon was Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center from 1988 to 1998 and Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedics at Brown University from 1978 to 1988. He has held additional academic appointments at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Michigan State University.

Dr. Herndon also holds a MBA in health care management from Boston University. He has received honorary degrees from Brown University, Harvard Medical School and Loyola-Marymount University. Recently, Dr. Herndon was elected an Honorary Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons of England.