John F. Burke

John Francis Burke (July 22, 1922 – November 2, 2011) was an American medical researcher at Harvard University widely known for his co-invention of synthetic skin in 1981, together with Dr. Ioannis V. Yannas.

Burke was also widely noted for developing a system of infection control in hospitals and showing that antibiotics given before surgery lower risks of post-operative infections. His father, Francis A. Burke, was a railroad man; his mother was Mary Biaggi. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1951.

Awards

Cutty Sark Science Award (1982) Founders Award of the Society of Biomaterials (1982) Nathan Smith Distinguished Service Award from the New England Surgical Society (1984) Joseph Sussman Memorial Award (1987) Distinguished Alumni Award of the University of Illinois (1991) Harvey Stuart Allen Distinguished Service Award from the American Burns Association (1993) Tanner Vandeput-Boswick Burn Prize in Paris (1994) Whittaker International Burn Prize in Italy (1996) Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons (1999) Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Tissue Banks (2000) Prize of the International Society of Surgery/Societe Internationale de Chirurgie (2003) Honorary Award from the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (2008) National Inventors Hall of Fame (2015)