Massachusetts General Hospital

Biography

Thomas F. Burke, M.D., an attending physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, graduated from Albany Medical College. Next, he completed his residency in emergency medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center Fort Lewis, WA. Dr. Burke is also an assistant professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

In 1998 Dr. Burke launched and presided over the nongovernmental organization, IICEM, whose principal purpose was to assist physician leaders around the world in the development of their own emergency systems. In the following years their activities included: pediatric seminars for Eastern Europe, an Eastern European program in domestic violence, an intensive 2-month training for Romanian physicians (in the US). The organization also developed the trauma system for the country of Romania. During this time Dr. Burke was also the medical director of the International Torture and Trauma Program (ITTP). This is a program focused on increasing the capacity of global social leaders in the fight against torture and trauma. In November of 2006 he began a new position as the founding director of the Center for Global Health (CGH) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He is now the chief of the Division of Global Health and Human Rights in the Department of Emergency Medicine. The Division's mission remains focused on caring the world's most vulnerable through education, research, and service. At the Division the aim is to provide a catalytic environment for those who seek engagement, education, or research opportunities in global health while additionally executing world leading initiatives in such areas as fighting malnutrition and improving maternal and fetal care. Dr. Burke also runs an annual Harvard Summer Program in Kisumu, Kenya, "Innovations and Technologies for Health Care Transformation in Africa".

Research
The extensive research agenda of the Division of Global Health and Human Rights has included scholarly activity focused on health and human rights in the realm of human trafficking and slavery, humanitarian assistance, peace measurement, malnutrition, and maternal and newborn health.

Publications

View my most recent publications at PubMed

Help for their homeland

MGH Hotline 1.21.11

MGH helps fight South Sudan medical education crisis

“Between the Earth and Sky” follows Thomas Burke, MD, chief of the MGH division and leader of its Southern Sudan Medical Education Collaborative, as he and his team recruit instructors from Boston and beyond to work alongside Sudanese counterparts to teach 400 medical students who dream of becoming the first generation of South Sudanese doctors.

Students in the Field: A blog excerpt from Whitman College student Andrew Roehrig working in Kenya.

Under the guidance of Thomas F. Burke MD, the Innovations, technologies, and health transformation in Africa program brings students in the Harvard Summer Program to Kisumu, Kenya, to explore diverse approaches aimed at fostering transformative and sustainable healthcare improvements in Africa.

Mass General Physician Reports from Benghazi, Libya

Thomas F. Burke, MD, chief of the Division of Global Health and Human Rights in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mass General was working in Benghazi, Libya, to help establish medical training and infrastructure. He provides his perspective and experience during the recent tragic attacks on the U.S. Embassy.

MGH hosts Libyan health leaders

The MGH Division of Global Health and Human Rights hosted leaders from the Benghazi Medical Center (BMC) to discuss a collaboration to aid BMC in its efforts to establish itself as a center of excellence for emergency care for Benghazi and for all of Eastern Libya.