Burks Receives Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award

05-16-02 (Little Rock)   A. Wesley Burks, M.D., received the highest honor that a faculty member at the UAMS College of Medicine can receive – the Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. The Dean of the college, E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., presented the award to Dr. Burks on Tuesday [5-14-02] during an academic ceremony held in the Sam Walton Auditorium within the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) on the campus in Little Rock.

By tradition, this recognition ceremony includes a scientific lecture offered by the recipient. Burks’ talk was entitled, “Life Threatening Allergic Reactions:  Can They Be Prevented?”

Burks is Professor and Head of the Division of Allergy and Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics of the college and is currently President of Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute.  He received his medical degree in 1980 from UAMS and completed his residency training in Pediatrics at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 1983.  He finished his fellowship training in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Duke University Medical School. He is the youngest faculty member to receive the award to date.

His research interests are in the area of nutrition and immunology, primarily related to adverse reactions to foods.  His major basic science contribution to date has been the identification of specific allergenic proteins within more complex allergens, especially peanut and soybean protein.  Panacea, a high-tech company within the Arkansas BioVentures business accelerator unit at UAMS, is founded upon his patented technology. The company is developing techniques to remove the allergenic properties of these foods. He is one of the top two or three investigators in the world in this important area of food hypersensitivity.   His work has challenged many previously accepted notions and has significantly altered the clinical diagnostic and therapeutic approach to patients with suspected food allergies.

Burks and his collaborators are currently producing recombinant food proteins for use in mechanistic studies related to the immune system.  His laboratory funding comes from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry, and private foundations. 

During a post-ceremony reception held in his honor, Dr. Burks received congratulations from academic colleagues and friends.  The Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award was established in 1993 to recognize outstanding faculty whose contributions to academic medicine have increased the prestige of the college.  Previous recipients of this award are: Donald McMillan, Ph.D.; Joseph Bates, M.D.; Bart Barlogie, M.D., Ph.D.; Alan Elbein, Ph.D.; Tom Andreoli, M.D.; M. Gazi Yasargil, M.D.;W. Sue T. Griffin, Ph.D.; and Stavros C. Manolagas, M.D., Ph.D.

Burks is the past President of the Southern Society for Pediatric Research and is a member of numerous local, state, and national committees.   He has served on the American Academy of Pediatrics Allergy and Immunology Executive Committee from 1997 – 2001 and as Chairman of the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee and the Allergen Standardization Committee for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

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03/30/07