David James Burke (born 11 May 1944) is an Australian neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist. He has held senior positions at the Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales and University of Sydney. He led one of two teams that formed the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, which was renamed Neuroscience Research Australia in 2010. His career has included a focus on the role of spinal cord circuits in the control of movement, the excitability of peripheral nerve axons in health and disease, and other areas of clinical neurophysiology.
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Education
Burke was born on 11 May 1944 in Trundle, New South Wales, attended primary school at Trundle Central School and secondary school at Sydney Grammar School (1956–1960), as a boarder at "School House" in Randwick. He studied medicine at the University of Sydney (1961–1966), graduating MB BS in 1967. 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.
Postgraduate career
Burke was inspired to undertake medical research and then to pursue a career in neurology by Professor James W. Lance, AO, CBE, and studied at The Prince Henry Hospital under his guidance. 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). He trained in neurology in Lance's department in 1973–1974, learning clinical neurophysiology by working with Dr A.K. (Keith) Lethlean. 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. He returned to Prince Henry for the third year of the Fellowship in 1977, and then became a Senior Research Fellow of the NHMRC. 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". 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. 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. 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.