Professor Louise Burke is the Professor of Pathology, University College Cork, Consultant Histopathologist, Cork University Hospital, and immediate Past Dean of the Faculty of Pathology, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). Prof. Burke obtained both her primary medical degree and Medical Doctorate (MD) from the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway, attained her FRCPath, UK,  and completed fellowship training in Pulmonary and Mediastinal Pathology  at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC, USA, incorporating her doctoral research on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer at the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.   Following further pathology training at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA, and further training on mesothelial lesions in France with the Chairperson of the French and International Mesothelioma Panel, Prof. Burke now leads the Thoracic Histopathology Service at Cork University Hospital and is Head of the Academic Department of Pathology, UCC. 

For Prof Burke, the enabling of enhanced collaborative and translational links between clinical, research and academic activities, including those closely aligned to Thoracic Pathology, are key priority work streams and include expansion of molecular diagnostics, digital pathology services and enhancement of Biobanking activities. Through her roles as European Councillor for the Pulmonary Pathology Society of the USA, a member of the Association of Pulmonary Pathologists, UK and in the current roles as Prof. of Pathology, UCC and Immediate Past Dean, Faculty of Pathology, RCPI, Prof. Burke also includes enhancement of Pathology educational activities as important for the support of academic healthcare delivery.