Summyr Burton, PhD(s), MPH

Summyr Burton is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Her research interests include public health emergency preparedness, biosecurity, and disaster behavioral health. She currently serves as Senior Program Manager for the Region 6 Center for Health Security and Response Readiness, a CDC-funded initiative focused on improving preparedness and response capacities within HHS Region 6 jurisdictions. In this position, she coordinates the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative strategies and interventions to enhance the public health emergency workforce, strengthen cross-sectoral partnerships, and improve data governance. Other notable research includes analyzing infection prevention and control trainings during the COVID-19 pandemic, funded by the National Network of Public Health Institute's Project Firstline. 

Ms. Burton holds over five years' practical experience in the health security field, including development of a social determinants of health dashboard to assist Louisiana's 2-1-1 system in resource distribution efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also worked in several crisis response operations with the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, including Hurricanes Laura and Zeta and the COVID-19 pandemic, among others. Her passion and dedication towards teaching and advising students is profound. During her graduate career, Ms. Burton has instructed or co-instructed three undergraduate courses, completed seven teaching assistantships for undergraduate and graduate courses, and led over a dozen guest lectures.

Ms. Burton holds an MPH in Global Community Health and Behavior with a Certificate in Disaster Management and Resilience from Tulane CSW School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She received her B.S. in Premedical and Health Sciences from MCPHS University in Boston, Massachusetts.