Dr. Burke is an affiliated Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine. She is also a member of the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center and Co-Director of the UC-Cuba Academic Initiative. In 2015 she became Chair of Public Health at the University of California, Merced. She has conducted research in Cuba and the U.S. on social and cultural processes associated with chronic disease management, clinical trials recruitment and participation, and disparities in cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship. Her research program addresses subjectivity, bioethics, and culture. Over the last eight years she has worked in partnership with the Pilipino Senior Resource Center on studies of Filipina breast cancer support disparities and peer navigation. She is currently principal investigator of a study of complex care management clinics in safety net hospitals.