Women’s History Month Spotlight: Catherine A. Staton, MD, MScGH, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Catherine A. Staton, MD, MScGH, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, joined Duke Emergency Medicine in 2011 with a goal of conducting global health research and improving access to emergency care on a local and global level.

Dr. Staton graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 2005 and went on to complete her residency in emergency medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine in 2009 and a Global Health Fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in 2011.

A global health advocate, Dr. Staton also obtained her Master of Science in Global Health (MS-GH) degree at Duke in 2014, and additionally serves as an Associate Research Professor of Global Health within the Duke Global Health Institute, Director of the Global Emergency Medicine Innovation and Implementation (GEMINI) Research Center, and as an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery. 

Over the last 10 years, with a lot of hard work and unwavering support from Duke EM, my dream has become a reality.
- Dr. Catherine A. Staton, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Staton's research has taken her around the world to study barriers to acute healthcare and how to enhance access to that care among underdeveloped and marginalized communities, including delayed childhood cancer care, families suffering from perinatal loss, and emergency unit capacity in low-income countries.

As an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Vice Chair of Research Strategy and Faculty Development, Dr. Staton strives to empower, teach, and coach trainees and faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine as they carve their own paths as clinician–scientists.  

"Being at Duke, I have been able to create my own stories and support the next generation of women and emergency physicians in creating theirs," says Dr. Staton on this year's Women's History Month theme of 'Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.'

"When I came to Duke, I had a crazy dream that I might be able to do U.S. federally funded research and capacity building globally. Over the last 10 years, with a lot of hard work and unwavering support from Duke Emergency Medicine, my dream has become a reality. As an added bonus, we are supporting women both here at Duke, in the U.S., and globally to continue this mission of improving access to acute care through implementation-focused research. I'm excited to continue to see the impact that we have on our patients' and learners' stories, both locally and globally."

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