MIAMI, FL, December 11, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present George William Burke, III, MD, FACS, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Burke celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Burke graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1974 and with an MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1978. He then pursued a surgical residency at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston, and a research stint in immunology with Harvey Cantor, MD, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Burke followed this with a fellowship in surgical endoscopy at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and then a fellowship in surgical transplantation at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
After finishing his training, Dr. Burke began his tenure at the University of Miami as an assistant professor of surgery in the division of abdominal organ transplantation in 1987. A distinguished physician and surgeon, Dr. Burke was promoted to full professor at the University of Miami in 1998. He has been the holder of the Joshua Miller MD Chair in Transplant Surgery since 2002.
Dr. Burke has served as the university's director of kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant programs and co-director of the division of transplantation for nearly two decades. He has worked in both a clinical and research capacity while at the University of Miami, and his devotion to patient care and clinical service is exemplified by the performance of approximately 2000 kidney and 500 kidney-pancreas transplants over 30 years. He credits a strong, capable, and unselfish surgical team, especially transplant surgeon Dr. Gaetano Ciancio, for contributing to the program's success. Dr. Burke is devoted to teaching in the operating room, pre- and post-transplant on the floor, and in clinics, along with didactic teaching sessions in classes. He has been involved in the training of over 80 surgical transplant fellows and innumerable general surgical and urological residents. For this effort, he has been recognized with numerous teaching awards.
Dr. Burke's research interests began with investigating the potential role of cytokines in transplantation immunobiology, specifically studying the relevance of serum cytokines in transplant recipients who experienced unusual immunologic events or who were found to be clinically tolerant. His research pursuits over the years have included multiple clinical trials involving randomized, prospective studies of immunosuppressive agents for kidney and/or kidney-pancreas transplant recipients, the use of machine perfusion for preserving kidneys for transplantation, and the use of donor bone marrow infusions as an approach to develop tolerance induction in kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant recipients. Dr. Burke is the author of more than 625 chapters, articles, and abstracts, and has served as the primary investigator in more than 20 studies. He is the principal investigator of numerous funded research programs, including two National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. He has participated in 14 NIH special emphasis panels in the past four years.
Dr. Burke has enjoyed a successful collaboration for nearly two decades with Dr. Alberto Pugliese, professor of medicine of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami, to study the recurrence of type one diabetes (T1D) after kidney-pancreas transplantation. Together they received a NIH R01 award to fund their work. Dr. Burke has similarly enjoyed a successful collaboration for over a decade with Dr. Alessia Fornoni, professor and chief of nephrology at the University of Miami, to study recurrence of proteinuria in children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis who receive a kidney transplant. Together they also received a NIH R01 award to fund novel approaches to therapy to prevent this recurrence.
A diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and a licensed physician in the states of Florida and Massachusetts, Dr. Burke is a long-standing member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Society of Transplantation, the Cell Transplantation Society, and the Society of University Surgeons. He speaks English and lesser amounts of Spanish and French. Dr. Burke enjoys physical activity, including running, rowing, and throwing "The Duke" NFL football with his son. He and his wife Donna Rosa Burke have been married for over 30 years, and are proud parents of three children.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, George William Burke, III, MD, FACS, has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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