Dr. Burk received his MD from the George Washington University School of Medicine with honors, completed a residency at UCSF and is a Johns Hopkins trained and Board Certified Medical Geneticist. He is currently a tenured Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His lab has studied papillomaviruses for over 25 years with a major focus on papillomavirus biological behavior, viral genomics and evolution. His team was the first to report in NEJM (1998) that the vast majority of cervical HPV infections in young women is of short duration and does not mandate treatment. In addition, his laboratory has discovered over 25 novel papillomaviruses. Dr. Burk is currently chair of the Papillomavirus Working Group of the ICTV. This group recommends the nomenclature of novel papillomavirus species and genera and Dr. Burk is leading an effort in organizing a systematic approach to viral variant classification. His current work includes studying both the genetic variation and epigenetic changes associated with cervical precancer and cancer.