Dr Hilary Burton

Hilary Burton, a founding member of the PHG Foundation, was Director from 2010 to 2017. After stepping down as Director, she held the position of Consultant in Public Health until formally retiring from the organisation on 1 April 2019. As an Associate, Hilary will be working on My Healthy Future and our work on personalised prevention in breast cancer.

Hilary is a highly experienced public health physician who believes that genomic science can, and should be used by public health professionals alongside the social and environmental determinants of health to bring about improvements in population health. Her special interests include the integration of genomics within mainstream medicine, genetics education for health professionals, and genomics and the developing world.

Hilary trained at St Hugh’s College and The Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford and became a consultant in public health medicine in 1993. She was a member of the Department of Health’s Human Genomics Strategy Group and currently serves on the Joint Committee of Medical Genetics of the Royal Colleges and the Council for the British Society of Human Genetics. She is a Fellow of Hughes Hall, Cambridge, and holds an Honorary Lectureship at the University of Cambridge.

Reports

Blogs

News

Retirement of Dr Hilary Burton

Journal papers

Towards implementation of comprehensive breast cancer risk prediction tools in health care for personalised prevention
Moorthie S, Babb de Villiers C, Burton H, Kroese M, Antoniou A.C., Bhattacharjee P, Garcia-Closas M, Hall P, Schmidt M.K.. Preventive Medicine, Vol 159. 6 May 2022.
Risk stratification, genomic data and the law.
Hall A, Finnegan T, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Kroese M, Burton H.
J Community Genet. 2018; https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-018-0358-4. [Epub ahead of print]
Implications of using whole genome sequencing to test unselected populations for high risk breast cancer genes: a modelling study
Warren-Gash C, Kroese M, Burton H, Pharoah P.
Hered Cancer Clin Pract. 2016 Jun; 1;14:12.
Preparing clinicians for genomic medicine
Burton H, Slade I.
Postgrad Med J. 2016 Jul;92(1089):369-71. doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2016-133962. Epub 2016 Mar 21.
Personalized medicine: what's in a name?
Burton H, Hall A, Kroese M, Pokorska-Bocci A, Sagoo G, Stewart A.
Personalised Medicine. 2014; 11(2):197-210.
Systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the birth prevalence of five inherited metabolic diseases
Moorthie S, Cameron L, Sagoo G, Bonham J, Burton H.
Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease. 2014 Nov; 37(6):889-898.
The impact of genetics on public health practice
Abubakar I, Burton H, Jackson C.
British Medical Bulletin. 2014 Oct; 112(1):37-46.
Beyond public health genomics: proposals from an international working group
Boccia S, Mc Kee M, Adany R, Boffetta P, Burton H, Cambon-Thomsen A, Cornel MC, Gray M, Jani A, Knoppers BM, Khoury MJ, Meslin EM, Van Dijn CM, Villari P, Zimmern R, Cesario A, Puggina A, Colotto M, Ricciardi W.
Eur J Public Health. 2014 Dec; 24(6):877-9.
A Toolkit to assess health needs for congenital disorders in low- and middle-income countries: an instrument for public health action
Nacul L,Stewart A, Alberg C, Chowdhury S, Burton H, Darlison MW, Grollman C, Hall A, Modell B, Moorthie S, Sagoo G, .
Journal of Public Health. 2014 June; 36(2):243-50. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdt048 : May 10, 2013 [Epub ahead of print]
Personalised medicine in the UK: challenges of implementation and impact on healthcare system
Burton H, Hall A, Kroese M, Pokorska-Bocci A, Sagoo G.
Genome Medicine. 2014 Apr 25; 6(4):28.
What ethical and legal principles should guide the genotyping of children as part of a personalised screening programme for common cancer?
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Hall A, Pashayan N, Pharoah P.
Journal of Medical Ethics. 2014 Mar; 40(3):163-7.
Familial Hypercholesterolaemia: a pressing issue for European health care
Aitman T, Brice P, Burton H, Edwards C, Humphries S.
Atherosclerosis. 2013 December; 231(2): 223-226
Public health genomics and personalised prevention: lessons from the COGS project
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Hall A, Pashayan N, Pharoah P.
Journal of Internal Medicine. 2013 Nov; 274(5):451-6
Policy challenges of clinical genome sequencing
Birney E, Burton H, Cunningham F, Firth H, Hurst J, Middleton A, Wright C.
British Medical Journal. 2013 Nov 22; 347:f6845.
Life insurance: genomic stratification and risk classification
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Feze I, Foulkes W, Hall A, Hamet P, Joly Y, Kirwan N, Knoppers B, Macdonald A, Pashayan N, Simard J, Van Hoyweghen I.
European Journal of Human Genetics. 2013 Oct 16. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2013.228
Health needs assessment for congenital anomalies in middle-income countries: Examining the case for neural tube defects in Brazil
Schuler-Faccini L, Sanseverino M, de Rocha Azevedo L, Moorthie S, Alberg C, Burton H, Chowdhury S, Sagoo G, Nacul L.
J Community Genet. 2013 Aug 30. [Epub ahead of print]
Implementing risk-stratified screening for common cancers: a review of potential ethical, legal and social issues
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Hall A, Pashayan N, Pharoah P.
Journal of Public Health (Oxf). 2013 Aug 28.
Public health implications from COGS and potential for risk stratification and screening
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Hall A, Pashayan N, Pharoah P.
Nature Genetics. 2013 Apr; 45(4):349-51 doi: 10.1038/ng.2582. PubMed PMID: 23535723
Incorporating genomics into breast and prostate cancer screening: assessing the implications
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Hall A, Hall P, Lyratzopoulos G, Pashayan N, Pharoah P.
Genetics in Medicine. 2013 Feb 14 doi: 10.1038/gim.2012.167. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23412607.
Stratified cancer screening: the practicalities of implementation.
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Eccles D, Eeles R, Hall A, Jbilou J, Lyratzopoulos G, Pashayan N, Pharoah P, Rafi I, Segnan N, T.
Public Health Genomics. 2013;16(3):94-9.
End of the Beginning and Public Health Pharmacogenomics: Knowledge in 'Mode 2' and P5 Medicine1
Burton H, Dove E, Fisher E, Masellis M, Ozdemir V, Warnich L, Wright C.
Current Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine. 2012 Jan 1; 10(1);1-6.
Inherited cardiomyopathies
Alberg C, Behr E, Burton H, Raju H, Sagoo G.
British Medical Journal. 2011 Nov 21; 343:d6966. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d6966
Personalised Medicine: Lessons from Birth Defects and Single Gene Disorders
Burton H, Sanderson S.
Current Pharmacogenetics & Personalised Medicine. 2011; 9(2): 80-83.
Polygenic susceptibility to prostate and breast cancer: implications for personalised screening
Burton H, Chowdhury S, Dent T, Duffy S, Easton D, Eeles R, Neal D, Pashayan N, Pharoah P.
British Journal of Cancer. Advance online publication, 2011 April 5; doi:101038/bjc2011.118
Legal and ethical implications of inherited cardiac disease in clinical practice within the UK
Burton H, Hall A.
Journal of Medical Ethics. 2010; 36: 762-766.
A framework for the prioritization of investment in the provision of genetic tests
Alberg C, Burton H, Kroese M, Lakshman R, Whittaker J.
Public Health Genomics. 2010; 13 (7-8) 538-43.
Tay Sachs disease carrier testing in the UK Jewish population
Alberg C, Burton H, Levene S.
British Journal of Midwifery. 2010; 18(4):220-224.
Realising the benefits of genetics for health
Brice P, Burton H, Stewart A, Wright C.
The Lancet. 2010 Oct; 23;376(9750):1370-1.
Burton H, Stewart A. Mainstreaming genetics: a comparative review of clinical services for inherited cardiovascular conditions in the UK. Public Health Genomics. 2010;13(4):235-45. Epub 2010 Apr 15
A toolkit for incorporating genetics into mainstream medical services: Learning from service development pilots in England
Bennett C, Burke S, Burton H, Farndon P.
BMC Health Services Research. 2010 May; 14;10:125.
Inherited cardiovascular conditions: the challenges of genomic medicine
Alberg C, Burton H, Hall A, Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions Services , Sagoo G, Stewart A.
Heart. 2010 Mar; 96(6):474-6
Public Health Genomics: The Interface with Public Health Intelligence and the Role of Public Health Observatories
Burton H, Ells L, Flowers J, Pencheon D, Wilkinson J.
Public Health Genomics. 2010 Mar 29; [Epub ahead of print].
Developing stakeholder involvement for introducing public health genomics into public policy
Adams M, Bunton R, Burton H, Schroeder-Baeck P.
Public Health Genomics. 2009; 12:11-19.
Professional education and training in public health genomics: a working policy developed on behalf of Public Health Genomics European Network
Adams M, Burton H.
Public Health Genomics. 2009; 12(4):216-24.
A new strategic phase for genomic medicine in UK health services
Burton H, Wright C, Zimmern R.
Genome Medicine. 2009 Oct; 12;1(10):93
Genetics in ophthalmology: equity in service provision?
Alberg C, Burton H, Moore T.
Journal of Public Health. 2009; doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdp110
Array CGH in patients with learning disability (mental retardation) and congenital anomalies: updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 studies and 13,926 subjects
Burton H, Butterworth A, Higgins J, Sagoo G, Sanderson S, Shaw-Smith C.
Genetics in Medicine. 2009 Mar; 11(3): 139-46
The use of cell-free fetal nucleic acids in maternal blood for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis
Burton H, Wright C.
Human Reproduction Update. 2008 Oct 22 [Epub ahead of print].
Competences, education and support for new roles in cancer genetics services: outcomes from the cancer genetics pilot projects
Bennett C, Burton H, Farndon P.
Familial Cancer. 2007; 6(2):171-80
The frequency of inherited metabolic disorders in the West Midlands, United Kingdom
Burton H, Green A, Preece M, Sanderson S.
Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2006.
Needs assessment and review of services for people with inherited metabolic disease in the United Kingdom
Burton H, Lee P, Sanderson S, Shortland G.
Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease. 2006.
Education in the genetics era: genetics education for health professionals - an essential component of genetics policy
Burton H, Zimmern R.
Medical Education. 2005; 39(3):243-4
Postregistration genetics education provision for nurses, midwives and health visitors
Burton H, Metcalfe A.
Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2003; 44(4):350-9
The NHS in the era of genetics: implications for community practitioners
Brice P, Burton H, Watson L.
Community Practitioner. 2003;76(8):288-90
Genetics education for nurses, midwives and health visitors
Burton H, Metcalfe A, Shuttleworth A.
Professional Nurse. 2003; 18(12):676-80
Gene genies
Burton H, Kroese M.
Health Service Journal. 2003; 113(5868):29
Genetics education for midwives
Burton H, Shuttleworth A.
Royal College of Midwives. 2003; 6(4):162-4
From Mendel to the Human Genome Project: the implications for nurse education
Burton H, Stewart A.
Nurse Education Today. 2003; 23(5):380-5
Genetics education for primary health care nurses

Burton H, Shuttleworth A.

Primary Health Care. 2003; 13(4):35-8

Dr Hilary Burton

Genomics and policy news