Elizabeth Burke, PhD, is an associate director on the Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team at Milken Institute Philanthropy. Her expertise lies in rare disease research, including neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, strategic planning, project management, and promoting collaboration between clinical and scientific teams. At the Institute, she utilizes this knowledge and experience to develop investment strategies that maximize the philanthropic impact on biomedical research.

Previously, Burke was a scientist within the National Institutes of Health Undiagnosed Diseases Program, where she worked with a cross-functional team to manage the program’s patient matching, data sharing, and biospecimen repository and coordinated translational research projects for individuals with extremely rare or novel disorders. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Carleton College in Minnesota and her doctorate in molecular medicine and translational science from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.