Featured Speaker(s)

Dr. Burke, a cardiovascular physiologist with more than 30 years research experience in the pharmaceutical industry, retired in 2008 as director of Cardiovascular Biology Research at Abbott Laboratories. She is the author of more than 75 publications and abstracts in scientific journals, and has co-authored 7 book chapters on subjects ranging from the prevention and treatment of in-stent restenosis to the pharmacology associated with thrombolytic therapies. She has presented her research, with particular emphasis on the development of drug-coated coronary stents, to audiences in the U.S. and across Europe, (including France, Scotland and England).

Dr. Burke is a member of the American Heart Association Council for Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the American Physiological Society, the Association of Black Cardiologists and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, (serving as President of the Great Lakes Illinois Chapter 1997�"1999). She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association, and also serves actively as a volunteer and spokesperson for the AHA’s Go Red for Women initiative, a program designed to educate women about their cardiovascular risks.

Dr. Burke has also received numerous honors in recent years. In September 2003, she received the Women of Color Emerald Honor for Career Achievement. In further recognition of her success, the YWCA of Lake County, Illinois honored her with the 2004 Woman of Achievement Award in Science and Technology. She has also been inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame during award ceremonies held in California in December of 2005.