John Burn (geneticist)

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Sir John Burn
FRCPCH FMedSci
Linda and John Burn at the Moth Club in Hackney, London, on 8 November 2021
Born (1952-02-06) 6 February 1952 (age 72)[1]
EducationBarnard Castle Grammar School
Alma materNewcastle University (MB BS, MD)
Known forCentre for Life[4]
Human Variome Project[5]
Spouse
Linda Marjorie Wilson
​
​
(m. 1972)​
[1]
AwardsKnight Bachelor (2010)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsCancer
Genetics[2]
InstitutionsNewcastle University
Great Ormond Street Hospital[3]
Royal Victoria Infirmary[1]
ThesisCardiovascular malformation : an analysis of genetic contribution (1991)
Websitewww.ncl.ac.uk/igm/staff/profile/johnburn.html

Professor Sir John Burn

FRCPCH FMedSci (born 6 February 1952)[1] is a British professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University and senior leader in England's National Health Service.[3][6][2][4]

Education

Burn was born and raised in the North East of England. He was educated at

Newcastle University Medical School from 1976 to 1980 where he was awarded a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci) degree in 1973, a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) in 1976 and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree in 1991.[1][7]

Career and research

Linda and John Burn with the Marsh Family, which comprises their daughter, son-in-law, and four grandchildren, at the Moth Club on 8 November 2021

Burn has been Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University since 1991 and a consultant specialist since 1984.[8] He is a recognised authority on the genetics of cancer.[4][9][10][11] He led the regional NHS Genetics Service for 20 years and helped to create the Centre for Life which houses an education and science centre alongside the Institute of Genetic Medicine[8] and Northgene Ltd,[12] the identity testing company he launched in 1995. He chairs DNA device company QuantuMDx.[13]

Between 2014 and 2018, he was a non-executive director of NHS England.[14][15] In 2016, he was appointed Executive Chairman of Global Variome Ltd, a not-for-profit company supporting services to the international coordination work of the Human Variome Project.[16][5][17]

In 2017, he became Chair of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.[18] His term as chair of the trust ended in 2024, and was taken over by Professor Kath McCourt.[19]

Awards and honours

In 2010, Burn was appointed Knight Bachelor by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for outstanding services to medicine.[20]

He was chosen as one of the first 20 ‘local heroes’ to be commemorated with a brass plaque on Newcastle Quayside in 2014, and the following year, he received the Living North award for services to the North East 2000 – 2015.[21][22]

The Harveian Oration 2019 was delivered by Burn, his lecture ‘Prediction and prevention in the genomic era’, outlined the history of genetic medicine, presented the challenges in using genetics to predict medical conditions and explained how he looks forward to seeing if we can use its full potential to prevent disease in the future.[23]

In 2020, Burn was selected as the incumbent of the 2020 Niehaus, Southworth, Weissenbach Award and Visiting Professorship in Clinical Cancer Genetics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The award recognises leaders in the translation of germline genetics to preventive care of cancer patients and their families. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Burn did not receive his award and present his lecture until May 2021.

Media interest

He was interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili for The Life Scientific on Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2018.[4]

Burn's daughter, son in law and grandkids earned national fame since the first lockdown in 2020 with a series of entertaining and quirky cover versions performed in their front room. The family surprised Burn with their Prostatectomy song, in homage to the successful operation he had to remove his prostate.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Anon (2017). "Burn, John".
    doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.10000270. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ a b John Burn publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ a b John Burn in Debretts [dead link]
  4. ^ a b c d Al-Khalili, Jim (2018). "John Burn and the genetics of cancer". bbc.co.uk. London: BBC.
  5. ^
    PMID 26987309
    .
  6. S2CID 206898051. Closed access icon
  7. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.241347. Archived from the original
    on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Staff Profile - Institute of Genetic Medicine - Newcastle University". www.ncl.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  9. PMID 16943400
    .
  10. PMID 9002677
    .
  11. PMID 22036019
    .
  12. ^ "NorthGene – DNA Testing You Can Be Sure Of". NorthGene.
  13. ^ "QuantuMDx - Molecular Diagnostics in Minutes". quantumdx.com.
  14. ^ "QuantuMDx CMO Prof Sir John Burn Appointed To NHS Board Of Directors". BioSpace. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  15. ^ "NHS England » NHS England Annual Report 2018/19". www.england.nhs.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  16. ^ "John BURN - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Human Variome Project". www.humanvariomeproject.org.
  18. ^ Dickinson, Katie (16 November 2017). "Newcastle's NHS trust announces appointment of new chairman". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  19. ^ Volpe, Sam (4 March 2024). "Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust announces new leaders as it looks to rebuild". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Knighthood for leading geneticist". 31 December 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  21. ^ "Prof Sir John Burn - NewcastleGateshead". www.newcastlegateshead.com.
  22. ^ "Renowned academic recognised for his contribution to the North East". 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  23. ^ "Harveian Oration and Dinner 2019". RCP London. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  24. ^ "The Marsh Family presents Prostate cancer – The Facts Of Life". Prostate Cancer UK. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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