Dr Burns received a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Melbourne in 1989 and undertook postdoctoral research at Penn State University, USA. In 1991, he joined Pfizer Central Research in the UK and after five years returned to Australia to take up a position as Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney. After two years he joined Sydney-based biotech company Ambri Pty Ltd as Chemistry Project Leader. He joined Cytopia (now YM BioSciences Australia) in 2001 to establish and lead the Medicinal Chemistry team and was appointed Director of Research in 2005. In 2010 Dr Burns joined the Chemical Biology division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research as a Laboratory Head and Head of Medicinal Chemistry. Dr Burns is a co-author on over 30 scientific publications, a co-inventor on over 20 patents, and was the lead medicinal chemist in two programs that have resulted in the discovery of drugs entering clinical trial. In particular, the dual JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor CYT387, now known as momelitinib, has completed Phase II trials for treatment of myelofibrosis and Phase III trials are due to start in the near future. Dr Burns’ research interests include the design of biologically active compounds for use as chemical probes and drugs, and the design of targeted prodrugs and antedrugs for more effective targeted therapies.