Dr. Paxton received his MD and MBA degrees from the University of Cincinnati before completing his emergency medicine residency at Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit, MI). He joined the Wayne State University (WSU) faculty as Assistant Professor in the department of emergency medicine (DEM) in 2011. Dr. Paxton works clinically in the DEM at Detroit Receiving Hospital (DRH) and Sinai-Grace Hospital (SGH), and is a member of the core academic faculty at both sites.

In addition to serving as SGH Director of Resident Research, Chairman of the WSUMP2 Institutional Review Board (IRB), and DRH Director of Clinical Research, he is an active clinical researcher and has served as PI for numerous industry- and publically-funded trials. He is the editor of several books on emergency medicine topics, and is a recognized expert and invited speaker for many regional, national and international lectures on emergent vascular access, cardiac arrest, and emergent resuscitation.