Professor David Burke recognised in Queens Birthday Honours for pioneering medical research

A Castlecrag resident whose pioneering medical research has led to improved treatments of brain trauma and other injuries has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours.

Prof David Burke has been made a companion (AC) of the Order of Australia.

A Castlecrag resident whose pioneering medical research has resulted in improved treatments for brain trauma and other injuries has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Professor David Burke was made a companion (AC) of the Order of Australia for his service to neurophysiology, innovative treatments for spinal cord and brain trauma injuries, and to professional medical organisations.

Recognised as one of Australia’s leading neurologists, Prof Burke has forged an extraordinary research career which has included a focus on understanding the role of spinal cord circuits in the control of movement.

He co-founded the Neuroscience Research Australia Institute and has also worked as a professor at the University of Sydney, the University of UNSW and contributed to various research institutions.

Prof Burke, who grew up in the state’s central west, credits the start of his five-decade long career to the guidance of mentors he met as an aspiring university student.

“When I graduated I was going to become a psychiatrist and I was saved from that fate by the first professor of neurology in Australia, James Lance, who was an inspirational teacher,” he said.

“I started doing full time research with him for a doctorate and it was during that time the whole idea of what I wanted to pursue as a career changed.

“That period not only formed what I wanted to do but it allowed me to mature and when I came back to clinical training I had research experience under my belt.”

Prof Burke went on to complete a training scholarship in Sweden and later took up a clinical post at Prince Henry Hospital, now part of Prince of Wales Hospital.

In 1991 he became the head of the hospital’s Department of Neurology and co-founded Neuroscience Research Australia — recognised internationally as a leading institute in brain and nervous system research.

Prof Burke’s contributions have left a lasting legacy in the prevention and treatment of various neurological conditions.

“The work the colleagues and I have done included research into the role of spinal cord circuits in the control of movement and how that circuitry goes wrong in patients with diseases,” he said.

“The research hopefully leads to earlier diagnosis - that’s an area where I think the work has really paid off.”

Prof Burke continues to work part-time at the University of Sydney’s Department of Neurology, runs a journal and is involved in a number of medical charities.

He said his advice to students looking to pursue a career in medicine was that “medical research underpins progress in medical practice.”

“It might sound old fashioned but my ethos has always been that research is an integral part of the workload of people that work full time in a hospital,” he said.

“Research should be part of the career development of every aspiring clinician because the outcomes can influence how we practice medicine. Unfortunately it can often be difficult to maintain in current climate when economies are restricted.”

Prof Burke, who has lived with his wife in Castlecrag since 1977, said the AC was a “privilege and a surprise”.

“I can be reasonably blase about things but it’s fantastic to be selected,” he said.

“I’ve been blessed to have worked with extremely supportive senior colleagues and of course extremely bright junior colleagues.

“It’s been a pretty good run and all along the way my wife has been there encouraging me. I owe the most to her.”