DrGillilandDr. Grant Gilliland was born in Dallas and raised in Oklahoma City. His father, a physician, traveled twice a year on mission trips to rural Mexico. Dr. Gilliland accompanied his father on these trips during his formative years, making an extraordinary impact on him. After completing an undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Baylor University, Dr. Gilliland attended UT Southwestern Medical School, graduating in the top of his class. Thereafter, he had additional training in Internal Medicine and Ophthalmology, completing a fellowship in Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Presently, Dr. Gilliland is an Associate Clinical Professor of Opthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical School and Director of Orbital Surgery for the Skull Based Surgery Institute at Baylor University Medical Center. He has extensive experience in sports-related eye injuries and is a leading expert in Sports Ophthalmology. Dr. Gilliland is actively engaged in teaching residents. He has completed extensive research, published numerous journal articles, written several chapters in leading textbooks, and is an international and national speaker within his specialty field.

In the 1990’s, Dr. Gilliland first connected with LEAP when he was invited on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. This experience deeply connected Dr. Gilliland to his love for mission and medicine. So over the next many years, he has traveled twice to the Dominican Republic and established a state-of-the-art Ophthalmology and Prosthetic Eye Program in Belize, taking approximately 15 trips to Orange Walk with LEAP. And, for the first time, he and his family traveled to Zimbabwe with us this month. Frequently, Dr. Gilliland’s wife, Mimi, and their two children, Connor and Nicole, have traveled on these trips together, planting seeds for a possible third generation of medical missionaries!

Also an active Board of Director and Director of Eye Surgery for the LEAP Foundation, Dr. Gilliland has been a most humble servant over many years. While an extraordinary presence within our organization, he is also a longstanding member of Northwest Bible Church. Guided by his faith and dedication, Dr. Gilliland feels blessed by the opportunity to be faithful to God’s purpose for him. He also feels enormous gratitude to Craig and Robin Hobar, who have been remarkable role models of selfless devotion.