Biographical entry Burke, David James (1944 - )

Summary

David James Burke is currently Professor and Dean of Research and Development (Health) at the University of Sydney and Honorary Life Governor of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute. Prior to this he was at the University of New South Wales from 1978 -2001, where he held several positions including Associate Professor, Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology (personal Chair) and Professor of Neurology (personal Chair). Burke has also held many prestigious hospital based positions including Chairman of the Department of Neurology at The Prince Henry & Prince of Wales Hospitals (1991-2002) and Director of Clinical Research at The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (1991-2002). His research is in the area of human motor control and its disorders.

Details

David James Burke is a clinical neurologist, who has held Chairs of Clinical Neurophysiology (personal Chair in 1987) and of Neurology (from 1991) at the University of New South Wales. In 1991, he became Chairman of the Department of Neurology, The Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospitals, and from 1997-2002 he was Director of Clinical Neurosciences in the hospital group.

He led one of two research teams around which the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute was formed, and was appointed Director of Clinical Research in 1991. In 1995, he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and also Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE). In 1999 he was appointed Officer in the Order of Australia (AO), and in 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal of Federation by the Australia Government. He has been guest Professor at and given named lectures to the UCSF (Visiting Professor in Clinical Neurophysiology), University of Paris VI (Visiting Professor in Clinical Neurophysiology), Miami Project to Cure Paralysis (Knight Visiting Professor), The American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (Lambert Lecturer), American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (Shahani Lecturer), Australian Association of Neurologists (Eadie Lecturer), British Society of Clinical Neurophysiology (plenary lecture), International Congress of Neuromuscular Disorders (plenary lecture), International Congress of Clinical Neurophysiology (Kugelberg Lecture), and has been guest Lecturer in Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and The Philippines.

In 2002 he took up his present position at The University of Sydney and is currently President of the Australian Association of Neurologists, has served on the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology and currently serves on committees of the World Federation of Neurology and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

His on-going research interests include human motor control and its disorders, sensation and its disorders, and the biophysical abnormalities that underlie ectopic impulse generation and conduction block in human peripheral nerves. He has co-authored 1 book (on human spinal cord circuitry) and edited 3 others, and has published ~250 refereed scientific papers and 65 book chapters on neurology and clinical neurophysiology.
Prepared by David J. Burke, 2006

Events

1967

Education - Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS) completed at the University of Sydney

1967 - 1968

Career position - Junior Resident Medical Officer at the Royal North Shore Hospital, New South Wales

1968 - 1969

Career position - Medical Officer at the Lidcombe Hospital

1969 - 1971

Career position - Postgraduate Research Scholar at the School of Medicine, University of New South Wales and Honorary Registrar in Neurology at the Prince Henry Hospital

1972

Education - Doctor of Medicine (MD) completed at the University of New South Wales

1973 - 1975

Career position - Medical Registrar at The Prince Henry & Prince of Wales Hospitals

1975 - 1978

Career position - C.J. Martin Travelling Fellow at the National Health and Medical Research Council, Academic Hospital, University of Uppsala, Sweden

1978

Career position - C.J. Martin Travelling Fellow at the School of Medicine, University of New South Wales

1978 - 1980

Career position - National Health & Medical Research Council Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow at the School of Medicine, University of New South Wales and Neurologist at The Prince Henry & Prince of Wales Hospitals

1980 - 1986

Career position - Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of New South Wales

1983

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of New South Wales

1987 - 1991

Career position - Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology and Personal Chair at the University of New South Wales

1991 - 2002

Career position - Professor of Neurology and Personal Chair at the University of New South Wales

1991 - 2002

Career position - Chairman of the Department of Neurology

1991 - 2002

Career position - Director of Clinical Research at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute

1995 -

Award - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1996 -

Career position - Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)

1997 - 2002

Career position - Director of Clinical Neurosciences at the Prince Henry & Prince of Wales hospitals

1999

Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)

2002 -

Career position - Professor and Dean of Research and Development (Health) at the University of Sydney

2002 -

Career position - Honorary Life Governor of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute

2003

Award - Centenary Medal of Federation received

Related entries

Published resources

Edited Books

• Burke, David (ed.), With Iron Rails: a Bicentennial History of Railways in New South Wales, New South Wales University Press, Sydney, 1988, 254 pp. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Burke, David James', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-500343. Details