Prof Robert Burton - Researcher Profile

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Address

Epidemiology & Preventative Medicine
Monash Medical School Building, The Alfred Hospital

Biography

Robert Burton was an undergraduate at Melbourne and Newcastle Universities, Australia. His postgraduate medical, surgical and scientific training was at the Royal Melbourne and Royal Children's Hospitals, the University of Melbourne and the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (Australia), Greenlane Hospital (New Zealand), Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital (USA), specializing in cardiovascular/transplant surgery and cancer immunology.

From 1977-1980 he was a Research Fellow in Surgery and in 1981 Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard University. For his research on cancer, in 1980 he was awarded the inaugural John Mitchell Crouch Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and in 1981 the Colleges’ Alan Newton Prize.

 

Major Career Appointments:  November 1981-October 1995: Foundation Professor of Surgical Science (Discipline Head) University of Newcastle and Chairman of Surgery at the John Hunter University teaching Hospital 1989-1992, specializing in transplantation/vascular surgery and medical oncology.  December 1995- August 2002, Director (CEO) the Cancer Council Victoria. Currently (2006- ), a Professor-Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Monash University.

Other career appointments: Visiting scientist at Oxford University (John Radcliffe Hospital, 1986-1987), International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France (1992 – 1993) and Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (2002), Professorial Associate in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine (1996-2003) and Surgery (2003-) University of Melbourne, Honorary Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery Monash University (1996-), Strategic Leader for Capacity Building and Council member (2002-2006) of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), Senior Adviser to the National Cancer Control Initiative (1996-2006), World Health Organization (WHO ) 2003-2006 Eight Short Term Consultancies (Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Vietnam) on Cancer and Chronic Disease Control, Senior Technical Officer WHO China Office (2005), Consultant on Chronic Diseases WHO-Kobe Centre (2005-2006), International Atomic Energy Agency Vietnam imPACT member 2006.

Professor  main research interests, in which he has published over 195 scientific papers, book chapters and books, are the cellular immunology of cancer and transplantation, and the epidemiology and behavioural science of the control of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD), with particular interests in cancer control planning, prevention and screening.

His Australian Professional appointments include: Evaluation Committee Victorian Trauma Foundation (member 2005-), National Cancer Strategies Group (member, 1998-2007, Chair 2002-2007) National Breast Cancer Centre (board member 1998-2004), The Cancer Council Australia (TCCA-board member 1996-2002), National Cancer Control Initiative Management Committee (board member 1996-, Foundation Chair 1996-1999), Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (1996-2002), National Cancer Advisory Committee of TCCA (member 1991-92, Chair 1996-1999-renamed Medical & Scientific Committee), National Health and Medical Research Council regional grant interviewing committees (member 1986-88, 1994, 1996, Chair 1989-91), Research Committees of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (1983-1991), Cancer Council NSW (1984-89, 1991, 1993-95), Cancer Council Victoria 1996-2002).

Qualifications

BACHELOR OF ART (DRAMA)
Institution: University of Newcastle
Year awarded: 1992
DOCTOR OF MEDICINE
Institution: University of Melbourne
Year awarded: 1978
PHD MEDICAL BIOLOGY
Institution: University of Melbourne
Year awarded: 1977
BACHELOR OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
Institution: University of Melbourne
Year awarded: 1971
BACHELOR OF MEDICINE
Institution: Melbourne University
Year awarded: 1967
BACHELOR OF SURGERY
Institution: Melbourne Universtiy
Year awarded: 1967

Publications

Book Chapters

Burton, R.C., Leowski, l., De Courten, M.F., 2010, Integrating cancer control with control of non-communicable diseases, in Cancer Control, eds Mark Elwood, Simon Sutcliffe, Oxford University Press, United kingdom, pp. 399-416.

Journal Articles

Corbex, M., Burton, R.C., Sancho-Garnier, H., 2012, Breast cancer early detection methods for low and middle income countries, a review of the evidence, Breast [P], vol 21, Churchill Livingstone, United Kingdom, pp. 428-434.

Brown, W.A., Burton, R.C., Laurie, C., Hebbard, G.S., O'Brien, P.E., 2012, Criteria for assessing esophageal motility in laparoscopic adjustable gastric band patients: The importance of the lower esophageal contractile segment, Obesity Surgery [P], vol 20, issue 3, Springer, New York, US, pp. 316-325.

Bell, R.J., Burton, R.C., 2012, Harms of overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, Medical Journal Of Australia [P], vol 196, issue 1, Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty. Ltd., Australia, p. 17.

Burton, R.C., Bell, R.J., 2012, Letter in response: the value of mammography screening, Breast Cancer Research And Treatment [P], vol 134, Springer New York LLC, United States, pp. 1345-1346.

Burton, R., Bell, R., Thiagarajah, G., Stevenson, C., 2011, Adjuvant therapy, not mammographic screening, accounts for most of the observed breast cancer specific mortality reductions in Australian women since the national screening program began in 1991, Breast Cancer Research And Treatment [P], vol E, Springer New York LLC, United States, pp. 1-7.

Mohebbi, M., Wolfe, R.S.J., Jolley, D., Forbes, A., Mahmoodi, M., Burton, R., 2011, The spatial distribution of esophageal and gastric cancer in Caspian region of Iran: An ecological analysis of diet and socio-economic influences, International Journal of Health Geographics [P], vol 10, issue Art. No: 13, BioMed Central Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 1-13.

Menzies, S.W., Emery, J., Staples, M., Davies, S., McAvoy, B., Fletcher, J., Shahid, K.R., Reid, G., Avramidis, M., Ward, A.M., Burton, R.C., Elwood, J.M., 2009, Impact of dermoscopy and short-term sequential digital dermoscopy imaging for the management of pigmented lesions in primary care: A sequential intervention trial, British Journal Of Dermatology [P], vol 161, issue 6, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, UK, pp. 1270-1277.

Lynagh, M., Burton, R.C., Sanson-Fisher, R., 2007, A systematic review of medical skills laboratory training: where to from here?, Medical Education, vol 41, issue 9, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, UK, pp. 879-887.

Staples, M., Elwood, M., Burton, R.C., Williams, J.L., Marks, R., Giles, G., 2006, Non-melanoma skin cancer in Australia: The 2002 national survey and trends since 1985, Medical Journal of Australia, vol 184, issue 1, Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty. Ltd., Australia, pp. 6-10.

Elwood, M., Burton, R.C., Quinn, M.A., 2006, The success and unrealised potential of the National Cancer Control Initiative, Medical Journal of Australia, vol 185, Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty. Ltd., Australia, pp. 183-184.

Wang, L., Kong, L., Wu, F., Bai, Y., Burton, R.C., 2005, Preventing chronic diseases in China, The Lancet, vol 366, issue 9499, The Lancet Publishing Group, United Kingdom, pp. 1821-1824.

English, D.R., Del Mar, C., Burton, R.C., 2004, Factors influencing the number needed to excise: excision rates of pigmented lesions by general practitioners, Medical Journal of Australia, vol 180, issue 1, Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty. Ltd, Australia, pp. 16-19.

Elwood, M., Burton, R.C., 2004, Passive smoking and breast cancer: Is the evidence for cause now convincing?, Medical Journal of Australia, vol 181, issue 5, Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty. Ltd., Australia, pp. 236-237.

English, D.R., Burton, R.C., del Mar, C.B., Donovan, R.J., Ireland, P.D., Emery, G., 2003, Evaluation of aid to diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions in general practice: Controlled trial randomised by practice, British Medical Journal, vol 327, issue 7411 (375), BMJ Publishing Group, United Kingdom, pp. 1-6.

Burton, R.C., 2002, Cancer control in Australia: Into the 21st century, Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol 32, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 3-9.