Med. school honors donors

By Elliot Njus

Published May 1, 2007

The MU School of Medicine honored two of its most generous benefactors Friday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Thomas W. and Joan F. Burns Center for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Research.

Thomas Burns was a member of the first University Hospital staff in 1956, according to an MU news release.

He and his wife, Joan Burns, have donated approximately $4 million to the School of Medicine, spokesman Richard Gleba said.

Gleba said more than $3 million has gone to the research center.

"We predict that research conducted at the Thomas W. and Joan F. Burns Center will result in potentially lifesaving advances for the many patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease," Chancellor Brady Deaton stated in the release.

The center's primary laboratories were constructed with a separate grant in 2005, and its research staff is supported by endowments funded by the couple's donations, Gleba said.

He said the center's construction was funded by a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The grant funded the construction of more than 6,000 square feet of laboratory space.

The Burns' donations fund an endowed chair held by the center's director, James Sowers, an endowed professorship and an endowment for other faculty positions.

The center researches the link between cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a combination that kills more than 15,000 Missouri residents every year, according to the release.

The release stated that the couple has also made contributions to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and other programs. In addition to the couple's donations, Thomas Burns was an influential faculty member at the School of Medicine.

"Like thousands of other medical students, I was privileged to be trained by Dr. Burns," School of Medicine Dean William Crist stated. "Many of those students also followed Dr. Burns' example by pursuing careers at academic medical centers."

Thomas Burns has been honored by the American College of Physicians with the title of "master," the highest academic honor, and the Laureate award.

He has also received the University of Missouri Faculty-Alumni Award and a Mizzou Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award.

Thomas Burns also helped establish the Cosmopolitan International Diabetes Center, a partnership between the MU and the private sector, and served as its director, according to the release.

It is the only facility of its kind in Missouri outside of Kansas City and St. Louis and treats diabetes-related complications, as well as other hormonal conditions.

The couple's son, Richard Burns, is an assistant professor in the School of Medicine and graduated from the School of Medicine in 1990.

The couple has three other children and resides in Columbia.