David Burke (neurophysiologist)

Last updated

David James Burke

AC , FRACP , FAA , FTSE
Born (1944-05-11) 11 May 1944 (age 79)
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist [1]
SpouseKatre Klettenberg
Medical career
Institutions Prince of Wales Hospital, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital [2]
Sub-specialtiesClinical Neurophysiology
ResearchClinical neurophysiology; motor control; peripheral nerve function [3]

David James Burke AC , FRACP , FAA , FTSE (born 11 May 1944) is an Australian neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist. [1] He has held senior positions at the Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales and University of Sydney. [1] He led one of two teams that formed the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, [4] which was renamed Neuroscience Research Australia [5] in 2010. His career has included a focus on the role of spinal cord circuits in the control of movement, [6] the excitability of peripheral nerve axons in health and disease, and other areas of clinical neurophysiology. [1]

Contents

Education

Burke was born on 11 May 1944 in Trundle, N.S.W., [1] [7] attended primary school at Trundle Central School and secondary school at Sydney Grammar School (1956–1960), as a boarder at "School House" in Randwick. [8] He studied medicine at the University of Sydney (1961–1966), graduating MB, BS in 1967. [1] In 1969, he became a postgraduate research scholar for the degree, Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of New South Wales, graduating in 1972, and in 1983 he was awarded the higher doctorate, Doctor of Science (DSc), also by the University of New South Wales. [9]

Postgraduate career

Burke was inspired to undertake medical research and then to pursue a career in neurology by Professor James W. Lance, AO, CBE, [10] and studied at The Prince Henry Hospital under his guidance. [11] After completing the MD by research, he became a medical registrar at Prince Henry, and passed the examinations of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (awarded MRACP in 1972 and FRACP in 1975). [1] He trained in neurology in Lance's department in 1973-1974, learning clinical neurophysiology by working with Dr A.K. (Keith) Lethlean. [12] In 1975, he went to Sweden on a C.J. Martin Travelling Fellowship from the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to undertake postdoctoral research with Professor Karl-Erik Hagbarth in Uppsala (1975-1976), where he mastered the then-novel technique, microneurography. [13] He returned to Prince Henry for the third year of the Fellowship in 1977, and then became a Senior Research Fellow of the NHMRC. [1] In 1980, he was appointed Staff Specialist Neurologist at Prince Henry and Associate Professor (conjoint) with the University of New South Wales. He was promoted to a personal Chair of Clinical Neurophysiology in 1987 and, following the retirement of his mentor, Professor James Lance, he was appointed Professor of Neurology and Chairman of the Department of Neurology within the "Institute of Neurological Sciences". [2] He oversaw the movement of the clinical services from Prince Henry at Little Bay to the Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick, coinciding with the formation of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute. [14] Burke led one of the two teams that came together to form the Institute, and served as Director of Clinical Research, with the Executive Director of the Institute, Professor D.I. McCloskey. [15] [14] In 1995 he was elected Fellow of two learned academies, the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and the Australian Academy of Technological Science & Engineering (FTSE). In 1997 he was appointed Director of the hospital’s clinical services in the neurosciences. [2]

In 2002 Burke resigned from his hospital, university and medical research institute appointments to move to the University of Sydney, initially as Director then Dean of Research & Development for the College of Health Sciences (which incorporated the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences). [1] He was also then appointed to the Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, [16] and provided clinical neurophysiology services at the hospital. In 2008, on the retirement of Professor J.D. Pollard he was appointed to the Bushell Chair of Neurology at the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and continued in university administration for Sydney Medical School as Associate Dean (Research). In 2013 he stepped down from these roles into a fractional appointment, and retired at the beginning of 2020. [1]

His personal research, in particular that with Professor Simon Gandevia involved microneurography and other motor control studies on human subjects. [1] His focus on the circuitry of the human spinal cord led to a long-lasting collaboration with Professor Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny at Hôpital de la Salpêtrière in Paris, France, the home of French neurology, with mutual visits every year or two from 1990, culminating in a major text that summarised their research ("The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord: Spinal and Corticospinal Mechanisms of Movement"). [17] His other major area involved the determinants of axonal excitability and the disturbances that underlie the ectopic activity of axons that is responsible for paraesthesiae and fasciculation, and for conduction block in damaged axons, major collaborators being Professor Hugh Bostock, FRS (UCL Institute of Neurology, London) [18] and Professor Matthew Kiernan (Burke’s successor to the Bushell Chair of Neurology at the University of Sydney). [19]

Awards and honours

Burke was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1999 Australia Day Honours "for service to science and medicine, particularly in the field of clinical neurophysiology in the areas of research and education, and to the community through medical charities and lay organisations". [20] In 2001, he received the Centenary Medal of Federation from the Australian Government for service to Australian society and science in neurology. [21] In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Burke was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) "for eminent service to neurophysiology, to innovative treatments for spinal cord and brain trauma injuries, and to professional medical organisations". [22] [23]

Related Research Articles

Clinical neurophysiology is a medical specialty that studies the central and peripheral nervous systems through the recording of bioelectrical activity, whether spontaneous or stimulated. It encompasses both research regarding the pathophysiology along with clinical methods used to diagnose diseases involving both central and peripheral nervous systems. Examinations in the clinical neurophysiology field are not limited to tests conducted in a laboratory. It is thought of as an extension of a neurologic consultation. Tests that are conducted are concerned with measuring the electrical functions of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves in the limbs and muscles. It can give the precise definition of site, the type and degree of the lesion, along with revealing the abnormalities that are in question. Due to these abilities, clinical neurophysiology is used to mainly help diagnose diseases rather than treat them.

Sidney Gilman is an American retired physician, neurologist, and educator. He is an expert on Alzheimer's disease and spent the majority of his career at the University of Michigan, its medical school, and its Health System.

The Kolling Institute is located in the grounds of the Royal North Shore Hospital in St Leonards, Sydney Australia. The institute, founded in 1920, is the oldest medical research institute in New South Wales.

John David Pollard, FRACP, FRCP (Lond), AO, born 6 January 1941, is professor of neurology at the University of Sydney, Australia. He attended Sydney Boys High School from 1953-58. After graduating with honours in a Bachelor of Science (medical) from the University of Sydney in 1964, he went on to study medicine at the same institution, graduating with honours in 1966 and completing a PhD studying nerve transplantation in 1973. He trained in neurology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and subsequently as research fellow and registrar at the Royal Free Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience Research Australia</span>

Neuroscience Research Australia is an independent, not for profit medical research institute based in Sydney, Australia.

Douglas G. Stuart was a Regents' professor emeritus of Physiology at the University of Arizona.

Richard Jones is an Australian medical doctor. A former director at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Clinical Director of the Spinal Injuries Unit at Prince Henry and Prince of Wales hospitals, he established the Post Polio clinic at these hospitals. He was Associate Professor of the School of Community Medicine at University of New South Wales, Sydney. He served as the medical officer and team leader for Australian teams at the 1976 Toronto and 1980 Arnhem Paralympics, and as medical officer and member of the Medical Science Committee at the FESPIC Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yves Agid</span> French physician

Yves Agid is a neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, cell biologist, neurochemist, academician, university professor, hospital doctor, researcher in biology and scientist specializing in neurosciences.

Mary Pauline Galea is an Australian physiotherapist and neuroscientist at University of Melbourne. She resides in Melbourne, Australia. Galea is a professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne's Department of Medicine at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and a Senior Principal Fellow in the Florey Institute of Neurosciences and Mental Health. She was foundation professor of clinical physiotherapy and director of the Rehabilitation Sciences Research Centre at the University of Melbourne and Austin Health. She is internationally recognised for her work in spinal cord injury and rehabilitative interventions.

Michael Fehlings is a Canadian neurosurgeon based at Toronto Western Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Fehlings specializes in complex spine surgery with a special interest in traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury and spine oncology. He mainly focuses on preclinical and clinical translational research related to enhancing repair and regeneration of the injured central nervous system. He holds many positions, including Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, Vice Chair Research at the University of Toronto, Robert Campeau Foundation/Dr. C.H. Tator Chair in Brain and Spinal Cord Research at UHN, Scientist at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, McLaughlin Scholar in Molecular Medicine, and Co-Director of the University of Toronto Spine Program. He is the past inaugural Director of the University of Toronto Neuroscience Program, and was the previous Medical Director at Toronto Western Hospital. Dr. Fehlings is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.

(Charles) David Marsden, FRS was a British neurologist who made a significant contribution to the field of movement disorders. He was described as ‘arguably the leading academic neurologist and neuroscientist of his generation in the UK’.

Mary Elizabeth Bartlett Bunge was an American neuroscientist who researched a cure for paralysis at the University of Miami, where she was a professor of cell biology.

C. U. Velmurugendran is an Indian neurologist, medical writer and the chairman and head of the Department of Neurology at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai. He is an honorary professor at the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati and has contributed chapters to books including Diseases of the Spinal Cord, published in 2012. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajiv Ratan</span> American physician

Rajiv Ratan is an Indian American academic, professor, administrator and scientist based in New York. He is the Burke Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medicine. Since 2003, he has served as the executive director of Burke Neurological Institute and as a member of the Council of Affiliated Deans of Weill Cornell Medicine.

David Albert Cooper was an Australian HIV/AIDS researcher, immunologist, professor at the University of New South Wales, and the director of the Kirby Institute. He and Professor Ron Penny diagnosed the first case of HIV in Australia.

James Waldo Lance AO, CBE (1926–2019), often referred to as James Lance and James W. Lance, was an Australian neurologist. He was the founder of the School of Neurology at the University of New South Wales and president of the International Headache Society in 1987–89, and a "world authority on the diagnosis and treatment" of headache and migraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jeffrey Aminoff</span> American clinical neurologist and neurophysiologist

Michael Jeffrey Aminoff is a clinical neurologist and neurophysiologist whose later clinical work focused on treating Parkinson's disease and related movement disorders. He retired in 2022 and lives in San Francisco, California.

Simon Gandevia is from Melbourne, Australia. He studied at the University of New South Wales where he received three research doctorates: PhD, MD, and DSc. Gandevia's current research focuses primarily on the relationship between the human brain and movement. His work contributes to various sub-fields within medicine particularly focusing on pathological mechanisms, such as neurology, cardiorespiratory medicine and rehabilitation. In addition, he worked with many editorial boards such as the Journal of Physiology. Gandevia had supervised and trained several doctoral students. Gandevia also writes about research ethics and quality of experimental procedures in order to facilitate the development of concepts about ethics in human experimental studies. In 1998, Gandevia was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science in 2016.

Lorne Mendell is a neurobiologist currently employed as a distinguished professor in the department of neurobiology and behavior at Stony Brook University in New York. His research focuses primarily on neurotrophins in neonatal and adult mammals, and on the neuroplasticity of the mammalian spinal cord. His research interests lie in other areas including pain, nerve wind-up, and specifically the neurotrophin NT-3. He has contributed to the growing pool of knowledge of axonal development and regeneration of immature and mature neurons. He has been a part of the search for novel treatments for spinal cord injuries and continues to study neurotrophins to determine their effects on neuronal plasticity. He served a term as president of the Society of Neuroscience during 1997–1998.

Peter GoadsbyFRS FRACP FRCP is an Australian neuroscientist who is Director of the National Institute for Health Research - Wellcome Trust King’s Clinical Research Facility and Professor of Neurology at King's College London. His research has focused particularly on the mechanism and alleviation of migraine and cluster headaches.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Curriculum Vitae - David James Burke". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Centre, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research. "Burke, David James - Biographical entry - Encyclopedia of Australian Science". www.eoas.info. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. "Professor David Burke". University of Sydney . Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  4. "Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Annual Report 2000-2001" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  5. "Neuroscience Research Australia, Annual Report 2009" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  6. Barwell, David (8 June 2019). "Professor David Burke recognised in Queens Birthday Honours for pioneering medical research". North Shore Times. News Corp Australia . Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  7. Watts, Janice P. and Wright, Chas F. (1987). The Story of Trundle - A Country Town and its People. Macarthur Press, Parramatta. ISBN   0-7316-0961-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Turney, Clifford (1989). Grammar: A history of the Sydney Grammar School 1819-1988. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   0-04-910115-3.
  9. Walker, Rosanne (18 June 2019). "Burke, David James - Biographical entry". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012.
  10. Burke, David (2021). "James Waldo Lance 1926–2019". Historical Records of Australian Science. 32 (2): 190–198. doi:10.1071/HR21001. S2CID   235510310.
  11. Lance, James W. (1987). Mind, Movement and Migraine. A 25-year Review: Department of Neurology, The Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospitals, Sydney. 1962-1987. Kensington: University of New South Wales. ISBN   0959380736.
  12. Lance, James W. (1987). Mind, Movement and Migraine. A 25-year Review: Department of Neurology, The Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney. 1962-1987. Kensington: University of New South Wales. ISBN   0959380736.
  13. Burke, David; Stålberg, Erik; Torebjörk, Erik (October 2005). "Karl-Erik Hagbarth, MD". Muscle & Nerve. 32 (4): 425–427. doi:10.1002/mus.20426.
  14. 1 2 "Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Annual Report 2000-2001" (PDF).
  15. Alafaci, Annette (7 February 2011). "McCloskey, Douglas Ian - Biographical entry". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  16. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. 125 Year Anniversary. Camperdown: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. 2007. ISBN   9781740790826.
  17. Pierrot-Deseilligny, E. & Burke, D. (2012). The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord: Spinal and Corticospinal Mechanisms of Movement. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-19258-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. "Hugh Bostock, FRS. Biography". royalsociety.org.
  19. "Staff Profile". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  20. "Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) entry for Professor David James BURKE". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 January 1999. Retrieved 10 June 2019. For service to science and medicine, particularly in the field of clinical neurophysiology in the areas of research and education, and to the community through medical charities and lay organisations
  21. "Centenary Medal, entry for Professor David James Burke. It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet". honours.pmc.gov.au.
  22. "Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) entry for Professor David James BURKE AO". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019. For eminent service to neurophysiology, to innovative treatments for spinal cord and brain trauma injuries, and to professional medical organisations
  23. Dye, Josh (9 June 2019). "Neurophysiology professor claims top gong". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2021.