Gloria Heppner has been named associate vice president for Research at Wayne State University, effective Oct. 6.

Heppner, professor, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, has been a member of the WSU community for 24 years. She most recently served as assistant dean for Cancer Programs at the School of Medicine and deputy director of the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

In her new position, Heppner will be primarily responsible for the developing and implementing new research at WSU, securing new research funding, managing and updating internal research support programs and administering intellectual properties.

WSU is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. In the past 20 years, Wayne State's research has grown 15 percent annually, with research expenditures reaching nearly $200 million in 2002.

According to John P. Oliver, vice president for research, Heppner's two decades in university and hospital leadership should give her all the tools she needs to help WSU's research enterprise continue to grow.

"Wayne State's School of Medicine has benefited from Gloria's expertise for years," Oliver said. "We feel very fortunate to have someone with her level of commitment and experience join the university wide research effort."

Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world.