Dr. Cross received her PhD in zoology from Tulane University in 1968. She served on the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania, where her focus was research on in vitro fertilization. She joined Stanford in 1976 as facilitator of laboratory design during the construction and opening of the Fairchild Building and was named lecturer in structural biology in 1977. Cross was promoted to associate professor in 1991 and full professor in 1998. She was named associate dean in 1992 and currently is responsible for preclinical advising and research, as well as serving as administrator of the Medical Student Scholars Program. Cross has won numerous teaching awards. She is the author of a widely regarded textbook, Cell and Tissue Ultrastructure: A Functional Perspective.
Dr. Cross is not now actively involved in research, but her past endeavors remain central to her position in guiding medical students in their scholarship pursuits. Her publications represent three areas of interest:
- Medical student research
- Women in medicine
- The reproductive physiology of early development