About the Baxters

Donald and Delia

In 1959 Delia Baxter established the Donald E. Baxter Foundation in memory of her husband, Donald, a distinguished physician, engineer, and scientist. After serving in World War I as chief of the Bureau of Tuberculosis of the American Red Cross in France, Dr. Baxter was asked by the Rockefeller Foundation to serve as superintendent of construction at the Peking University Medical School in China. During his stay in China, Dr. Baxter saw many patients die from dehydration. Upon his return to the United States he developed and patented the first method to mass-produce and package sterile intravenous fluids.

Delia Baxter was born in 1892 and trained as a nurse in the early 1900s. She worked closely with her husband managing their medical equipment company, Don Baxter Inc. After his death in 1935, she continued as majority owner until the company merged with the American Hospital Supply Corporation in 1951. In 1985 American Hospital Supply Corporation merged with Baxter Laboratories Inc., now called Baxter International, a company Dr. Baxter also co-founded.

The Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation was established to advance charitable, scientific, and educational purposes, primarily at medical and scientific schools of higher learning in California. The Foundation was renamed upon Delia Baxter's death in 1982 to the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation in honor of her memory.

How the Baxter Lab started

In 2002 Stanford was pleased to announce the Baxter Laboratory in Genetic Pharmacology, established in academic year 2001-2002 to further research in the study of new cellular, genetic, and pharmacological approaches for novel drug design and delivery under the leadership of Helen Blau as its first director. In 2009 the Laboratory was renamed the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology to better reflect the evolving research interests of the faculty. The groups of Drs. Helen Blau, Garry Nolan, and Peter Jackson are located in the Baxter Laboratory. 

The Foundation

The foundation operates as a family foundation independent of Baxter International. Today, the foundation’s board of directors include two generations of family members. Katie Russell serves as president of the foundation.  Early support from the foundation helped Stanford’s medical campus grow with contributions to research, capital support, and education.

- In 1972 the foundation established the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Professorship of Pharmacology, currently held by Helen M. Blau, Ph.D.

- In the 1960s, the establishment of the Baxter Faculty Scholar Awards addressed a new much-needed area of support, helping to launch the careers of dozens of Stanford's most promising young medical faculty.

- The Delia B. Baxter Medical Student Scholarship, established in 1999, was the school's first full ride medical school scholarship.  The foundation now annually supports several medical students and graduate students throughout their education at Stanford.

Stanford University School of Medicine is grateful to the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation for its long-standing partnership and support. Programs funded by the foundation have helped enrich the school and ensure its place among the top medical schools in the country.

Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Faculty Scholar Program

The Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Faculty Scholar Program is to help prepare and support new investigators at the Assistant Professor level as they begin their careers. This early stage of career development is a critical period for a new researcher. During this period, the new scientist requires some form of support to develop preliminary data and build his or her research program to the point where he or she can compete effectively for federal or other external funding.