Thomas F. Burke

“The DNA of Vayu is about making a difference in the world, based on the deep belief that every life deserves access to quality healthcare. Every life deserves a life of dignity.”

– Dr. Thomas Burke, MD, FACEP, FRSM

Thomas F. Burke is the Director of the Global Health Innovation Lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Burke spent 7 ½ years in the US Army and over that time, was deployed with the Light Infantry as well as the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Dr. Burke was a tactical physician for the FBI Hostage Rescue Team at both the hostage incidents in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. On September 11, 2012, Dr. Burke was in Benghazi, Libya, when Ambassador Stevens lost his life.

Dr. Burke’s innovations research experience spans 32 years and includes three years as a research director at Madigan Army Medical Center, four years as founder and chief executive officer of a successful clinical trials company, and 19 years as director of a global health innovations fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Over his career, Dr. Burke has pioneered several award-winning scientific advances and thereafter translated them into policy and practice.

Dr. Burke has extensive experience as a leader in the global health arena since 1994, with a focus on maternal, newborn, and infant survival since 2004. Dr. Burke led a research program focused on postpartum hemorrhage for 14 years and was the founder of the International Federation of OBGYN Committee on Childbirth and Postpartum Hemorrhage. He has authored over 140 scientific manuscripts and two books, and is often invited to speak at high-profile forums and leading universities around the globe. Dr. Burke served 14 years on the Harvard Medical School Admissions Committee. On June 3, 2019, in a joint UK and India government ceremony in the House of Lords, he was bestowed the title “Lord of the Planet in Medical Sciences.” In August of 2019, the Indian government honored Dr. Burke with an “Award for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health in Rural India”. 

Dr. Burke has opened several film festivals and has been profiled for his work by BBC, NPR, FOX Television, ABC, CBS, the London Financial Times, the New Yorker, the Seattle Times, and the Boston Globe, among other news outlets. He is the recipient of the 2025 Harvard Medical School Dean’s Community Service Award. 

Dr. Burke is President of Vayu Global Health, which works closely with Unitaid/WHO, Grand Challenges Canada, the Gates Foundation, and the Japanese government, among others, in over 50 countries.