title: John F. Burke
text: # John F. Burke
  
  John F. Burke (July 22, 1922 – 2011) was an American medical researcher at Harvard University widely known for his co-invention of synthetic skin in 1981, together with Dr. Ioannis V. Yannas.
  
  Burke was also widely noted for developing a system of infection control in hospitals and showing that antibiotics given before surgery lower risks of post-operative infections. Burke was head of the Shriners Burns Institute and chief of trauma services at Massachusetts General Hospital, a professor of surgery at Harvard University.
  
  ## Life
  
  Burke was born in Peoria, Illinois on July 22, 1922. He received his medical degree from Harvard University.
  
  