Karen E. A. Burns

Dr. Burns graduated from medical school (University of Western Ontario) in London, Canada where she pursued training in Internal Medicine, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. She completed a fellowship in lung transplantation (University of Pittsburgh, USA) and subsequently a Master’s Degree in Clinical Epidemiology (McMaster University, Canada).
Dr. Burns is a respirologist, intensivist, and epidemiologist. She practices critical care medicine at Unity Health Toronto - St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada. She is a Professor of Medicine and Clinician Scientist at the University of Toronto. She holds a Scientist appointment with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute (Toronto, Canada) and an adjunct faculty appointment with the Department of Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. Her research program focuses on characterizing practice variation in liberating critically ill adults from invasive ventilation and evaluating mechanical ventilation support strategies. As a clinician scientist and clinical researcher, she utilizes various research methodologies (national and international surveys, large-scale observational studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and randomized trials) to address important research questions within her program of research. Most studies within her research program have been conducted under the auspices of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG). She is the past Chair of the Women in Critical Care Interest Group of the American Thoracic Society, a member of the CCCTG Executive, and the current President of the Canadian Critical Care Society.