Harvard Catalyst Profiles

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Kathleen Helen Burns, M.D., Ph.D.

Title
Institution
Department
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Biography
education and training
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TXM.D., Ph.D.Genetics
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MDresidencyClinical Pathology (CP)
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MDfellowshipHematopathology
awards and honors
1993
National Merit Scholar
1995
National Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
2003
Graduation Speaker, Baylor College of Medicine
2006
Chief Resident, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dept of Pathology
2008
Richard Starr Ross Physician Scientist Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
2008
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists
2015
Deputy Director for Research and Programs, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dept of Pathology
2018
American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)
2019
Scriver Family Visiting Professorship in Genetic Medicine, McGill University
2020
Department Chair, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dept of Pathology
2021
Daria Haust Lecturer of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University
2023
Inaugural Thomas Wheeler, M.D. Lecturer, Department of Pathology

Overview
overview
Dr. Kathy Burns is the Chair of the Department of Pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Baylor College of Medicine and was recruited to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for clinical pathology (CP) residency and hematopathology fellowship. Thereafter, she joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins, progressed through their academic ranks to Professor with tenure, and served as the Pathology department's Deputy Director (Vice Chair) for Research and the institution's Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) Director. At Dana-Farber she now leads a research-oriented department of academic pathologists who study cancer biology. The Burns lab focuses its research on interspersed repeats and transposable elements and their roles in human disease.
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Research
research activities and funding
The research activities and funding listed below are automatically derived from NIH ExPORTER and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing items. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
Most Recent  |  List All
  1. R01CA289390 (CHIAPPINELLI, KATHERINE B) Apr 1, 2024 - Mar 31, 2029
    NIH
    Immunological consequences of LINE-1 expression in cancer
    Role: Co-Principal Investigator
  2. R01CA276112 (BURNS, KATHLEEN H) Aug 1, 2023 - Jul 31, 2028
    NIH
    Consequences of retrotransposition on genome integrity
    Role: Principal Investigator
  3. UG3NS132127 (BURNS, KATHLEEN H) Apr 1, 2023 - Mar 31, 2025
    NIH
    Single Molecule Detection of L1 Insertions and Intermediates
    Role: Principal Investigator
  4. R01CA240816 (BURNS, KATHLEEN H) Jul 15, 2020 - Jun 30, 2025
    NIH
    Characterizing the LINE-1 Retrotransposition-Replication Conflict
    Role: Principal Investigator
  5. R01GM130680 (BURNS, KATHLEEN H) Jul 24, 2019 - May 31, 2023
    NIH
    Expression and Impact of Interspersed Repeats
    Role: Principal Investigator

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Bibliographic
selected publications
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© 2025 President and Fellows of Harvard College
Funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through its Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, grant number UL1TR002541.