Wylie Burke named to chair Medical History and Ethics

Dr. Wylie Burke, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Genetics, has been named chair of the Department of Medical History and Ethics. Her appointment is effective Oct. 1, pending UW Board of Regents’ approval.

Dr. Wylie Burke

Burke is a renowned teacher, clinician and researcher. She is a faculty member in the UW’s Public Health Genetics Program and in the Medical Genetics Training Program. In 1994, she became the founding director of Women’s Health Care Center at UW Medical Center-Roosevelt and served in that role until 1999. She has also previously served as associate director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Burke’s research is focused on clinical and public health application of genetic information. Her work includes developing practice guidelines related to genetic risk for cancer, as well as the analysis of policy issues in genetics, such as universal screening, direct-to-consumer advertising, and the impact of genetic counseling on risk perception.

Currently, she is developing strategies for physician education in medical genetics and evaluating counseling and educational interventions related to breast cancer risk for consumers.

Burke received a Ph.D. in genetics in 1974 and an M.D. in 1978 from the UW. She also completed postgraduate training in medical genetics at the UW. ¶