Leonard appointed associate dean for maternal and child health

The expert in clinical research across the life span will lead the School of Medicine’s efforts to build research infrastructure at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.

Clinical research expert Mary Leonard, MD, professor of pediatrics and of medicine, has been appointed an associate dean for maternal and child health at the School of Medicine, effective immediately.

Leonard will focus on pediatric research issues and will work with leaders at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford to improve its infrastructure for clinical and translational research. She also will work with the Department of Medicine to ensure an efficient interface between clinical research in children and adults.

She will report to David Stevenson, MD, senior associate dean for maternal and child health, and work in concert with Harry Greenberg, MD, senior associate dean for research. She also will co-direct Spectrum Child Health and serve as an executive committee member of the Stanford Child Health Research Institute.

A 1989 graduate of the School of Medicine, Leonard returned to Stanford in 2014 after spending 25 years at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, first as a resident and fellow and then as a faculty member.

“Mary arrived from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania with a tremendous background of having developed the clinical investigation infrastructure at that institution,” Stevenson said. “Her experience will be very valuable to us.”

At CHOP, Leonard directed the Office of Clinical and Translational Research and was a senior scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, where she developed strong track records as a researcher and a mentor to other scientists. Her research has focused on the effects of childhood chronic diseases on nutrition, physical function and bone health throughout life.

“Her experience in clinical investigation involving both pediatric and adult patients bridges an important transition between these branches of medicine,” Stevenson said. “She will be able to help us build interfaces between Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford Health Care to facilitate research across the life span.”

Leonard is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Society for Pediatric Research.