Dr. Blaise Burke is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Radiology, (Radiation Oncology), ACVR (RO). He grew up in Richmond, VA, and spent the balance of his life there before moving to San Diego after finishing his training. Dr. Burke had no idea he wanted to be a veterinarian until he was 24. He studied languages and political science, hoping to work for Uncle Sam, but the Berlin Wall came down, the world changed, and so did he. He found his true calling in working with animals when he got a job with an old-school vet, working as a veterinary assistant. That experience set him straight and he went on to vet school at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Burke then completed a rotating internship at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego and followed that with a combined residency in medical and radiation oncology at Cornell University. Dr. Burke returned to San Diego and founded the radiation oncology service at VSH, the first such service in that city. Under his directorship, the service grew quickly, and currently serves families from the region, as well as more distant locations such as Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Los Angeles.
Dr. Burke is active in clinical research and has promoted students, interns and residents as they move forward in their careers. He is less interested in his own achievements as he is in theirs. Under his direction, three peer-reviewed papers have been published, four theses have been submitted, and three abstracts have been presented. He hopes to keep pumping up those numbers.
When not killing cancer, Dr. Burke enjoys teaching Japanese martial arts and trying to identify birds. He is really good at one and not so good at the other.
