Robert D. Burk

Robert D. Burk, MD, is an attending physician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein. He is Professor and Vice Chair, Translational Research, Pediatrics, Genetic Medicine, and Professor of Microbiology & Immunology; Epidemiology & Population Health; and Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women’s Health at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Burk’s clinical focus centers on cancer genetics and inherited cancer risk.

After earning his Doctor of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine in 1976, Dr. Burk completed a surgical internship at the University of California, San Francisco, in 1977. He remained at this institution to complete his pediatric residency in 1980, followed by a medical genetics fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1983. He then became a Senior Research Fellow in molecular virology and hepatology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine until 1984.

Dr. Burk’s research focuses on human papillomavirus (HPV) genomics and its association with cancer and human microbiome studies, investigating the role of the human microbiome in health through large epidemiological studies. His work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and shared through community presentations, media appearances, invited lectures, review articles and book chapters. He is a reviewer for many scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Hepatology and the Journal of Virology, among others.

Dr. Burk is a Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Medical Genetics as a Clinical Geneticist. He is or has been a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society for Microbiology, the American Society of Human Genetics and the Society for Pediatric Research, among others. In 2013, Dr. Burk received the Honorary Alumnus Award and the Saul R. Korey Award in Translational Science & Medicine from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 2015, he became an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.