Stanton, of Grosse Pointe, is also pediatrician-in-chief at Children's Hospital of Michigan.

"Research is an integral component of Wayne State's mission. The research that our faculty conduct sets us apart from other medical schools," said Valerie M. Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., dean of the School of Medicine. "Dr. Stanton, a leader in pediatric medicine and research, will be a dynamic force in our ongoing effort to establish the School of Medicine as a premier national medical research institution. Her drive and initiative, as well as her background, will be instrumental in our push to ensure that our school is recognized as a key research center in Michigan."

Stanton has chaired the Department of Pediatrics since joining the WSU School of Medicine in 2002.

"Research sets the trajectory for the medical community; research provides the fodder for advances in our curriculum and improvements in health and well-being," Stanton said. "To be entrusted with the current and future research portfolio of the School of Medicine and our colleagues is a great honor and a great privilege."

An accomplished researcher, Stanton's studies have been extensively funded and widely published in many journals of note. She chaired a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study section on AIDS and related research, and was a study committee member of the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, and an advisory member of the NIH's Fogarty International Center. She has served in critical research advisory roles and related capacities for numerous respected institutions in addition to the NIH, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations Children's Fund, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Stanton received her bachelor's degree in 1972 from Wellesley College and her medical degree cum laude from the Yale University School of Medicine in 1976. She performed residencies at University Hospitals of Cleveland and at Yale University School of Medicine, where she completed a fellowship in infectious diseases.

She served as staff scientist and director of the Urban Volunteer Program for the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research and World Bank from 1983 to 1986 in Bangladesh. For an additional two years, Stanton was appointed the World Bank's maternal child health specialist in Bangladesh. She later joined the University of Maryland, where she served as professor, division chief and vice chair of pediatrics, and director of the Center for Minority Health Research. She was the chair of pediatrics at West Virginia University, where she chaired the School of Medicine Strategic Planning Advisory Board of Research and the Clinical Studies Internal Grant Program, from 1999 until joining the WSU School of Medicine in 2002.

A past president of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, Stanton is a member of the Research Training, Education and Career Development Working Group for the Wayne State University Clinical and Translational Science Award. In 2007 she chaired the Children's Research Center of Michigan Strategic Planning Commission. From 2004 to 2007 she was vice president of the Foundation for Medical Research and Education, and is a member of the Mott Center Research Advisory Board.

"Research has been and will always be the cornerstone of health care," Stanton said. "Without continued, high-quality research, the health and well-being of our population would fail to improve, and because of the ever-changing health challenges and insults, well-being would decline. Research is also our most powerful tool to decrease health disparities."

As for her goals as vice dean of research, she said, "We shall address some immediate practical challenges while engaging the entire School of Medicine research community to think strategically about our research direction and goals for the next four to five years."