Elizabeth Burke, PhD, is an associate director with MI Philanthropy’s Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration. Her expertise lies in rare disease research, including neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, strategic planning, project management, and promoting collaboration between clinical and scientific teams. In her role, she utilizes this knowledge and experience to develop investment strategies that maximize philanthropy’s 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 in addition to coordinating 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.