Claude Nash Herndon Jr. (February 23, 1916 – March 29, 1998) was an American human geneticist who taught and conducted research at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine (now the Wake Forest School of Medicine) in Winston-Salem, NC.
[2] For most of Herndon's academic career, from 1966 to 1989, he was senior associate dean for research and development at the medical school.
[3] An outspoken advocate for genetics research to identify and curtail severe inherited diseases and birth defects, Herndon provided genetics counseling to the North Carolina government's eugenics sterilization program that later prompted the governor of North Carolina to apologize for it.
[2][4] Herndon also served on many other academic and government health panels, including the genetics subcommittee of the American Association of Medical Colleges.
[2] In 1947, Herndon co-founded the Human Betterment League with Clarence Gamble and James G. Hanes, among others.