Duke Neuroendocrinologist Expands Programs' National Recognition
In July 2024, Leena Shahla, MD, a neuroendocrinologist joined Duke as the medical director of Duke Pituitary Program. Prior to her arrival at Duke, she successfully established a Pituitary Program in Arizona and played a key role in expanding pituitary care in Florida.
Dr. Shahla specializes in a wide spectrum of complex pituitary disorders, with a particular interest in acromegaly and Cushing’s Disease. She has a referral population from North Carolina and surrounding states including Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Her practice is deeply collaborative, working closely as a multi-disciplinary team with neurosurgeons Patrick J. Codd, MD, and Jordan M. Komisarow, MD, as well as experts from neuro-ophthalmology, radiation- oncology, ENT and pathology.
Since her arrival at Duke, Dr. Shahla has been instrumental in driving the growth of the pituitary program leading to its designation as a formalized Center and subsequently it was recognized as a Pituitary Center of Excellence. She also revised and updated Duke peri-operative pituitary protocol and is actively developing a dedicated pituitary website to expand patient education and resources. In recognition of her ongoing leadership and contribution, Dr. Shahla was appointed associate professor by the Department of Neurosurgery.
Her expertise continues to be recognized both nationally and internationally. She recently presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Meeting on “Navigating the Complexities and Challenges of Acromegaly Management,” and is scheduled to present at the upcoming Florida Endocrine Association Meeting.
Dr. Shahla has been featured on the Pituitary World News Podcast, where she discussed the nuances between Cushing’s and pseudo-Cushing’s alongside Dr. Lewis Blevins, director of the UCSF Pituitary Center. Additionally, she presented a poster at the European Society of Endocrinology on “The Recovery of Gonadal Axis in Patients with Prolactinomas.” She is currently conducting a combined study that involves patients from both University Hospital Hamburg, Germany and Duke Endocrinology.
Dr. Shahla was also recently invited to serve on the Steering Committee of the Endocrine Society Adrenal & Pituitary Special Interest Group for 2025-2026, her contributions will include organizing educational events and webinars.
For the future, Dr. Shahla’s goal is to grow the Duke Pituitary Center into an internationally recognized pituitary center and lead multi-center research collaborations. She also plans to participate in the national pituitary registry which is currently under development and expand clinical trials and research efforts at Duke.