Dr. Burns is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He is the course director for Medical Microscopic and Developmental Anatomy, the co-director of the Mini Medical School, and the director of K-12 education programs at UAMS. He is Principal Investigator for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant "Partners in Health Sciences" (NIH-SEPA #R25-RR2346). This grant funds a statewide educational outreach effort involving summer minicourses for K-12 teachers on a range of science- and health-related topics; interactive televideo (ITV) conferences for K-12 students and teachers on similar topics; intensive, computer-based workshops for K-12 teachers on construction of web sites and interactive computer-assisted education modules; "Science Nights" at Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School; and the K-14 Education Programs web site. He is a basic scientist in cancer research, and has authored or co-authored 4 medical textbooks as well as 86 full-length publications on biological rhythms and their effect on the chemotherapy of cancer.

Dr. Burns received his B.A. in biology from Hartwick College; his M.S. in zoology (experimental embryology) from the University of Maine, Orono; and his Ph.D. in anatomy (experimental oncology) from Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed an NIH postdoctoral fellowship in cancer pathology at The George Washington University, and received a National Cancer Institute Research Career Development Award. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Hartwick College in 1988.