Principal Investigator
CONICET Senior Researcher
UBA Professor
Prof. Gerardo Burton
Licenciado en Química (1973)
Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)
Doctor en Química (1977)
Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)
Overview
Prof. Burton received a degree in chemistry in 1973 from the Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and a PhD in chemistry in 1977 from the same faculty. He then joined Prof. A. Ian Scott (1928-2007) at Texas A&M University (USA) as a postdoctoral fellow working on nuclear magnetic resonance applied to biological systems (1977-1979). He returned to Argentina in 1980 to join the Departamento de Química Orgánica (Department of Organic Chemistry) at the UBA, where he started his independent scientific career within the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). He currently holds the Investigador Superior del CONICET position.
Prof. Burton has been active in teaching since 1971 (UBA), passing trough all positions from Lab Assistant to Full Plenary Professor. He has also been a visiting professor at the Facultad de Química de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina).
Prof. Burton’s contributions include biosynthetical studies, natural product chemistry, organic synthesis, spectroscopy and medicinal chemistry, the latter being the main area of his research starting in the 90s. His research contributions have resulted in more than 160 scientific papers in national and internationally recognized journals. Prof. Burton is also author of many book chapters, scientific communication articles and international patents. Furthermore, he has directed 18 doctoral theses and many researchers and fellows. Currently, his research interests fall within the area of medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis, particularly in the study of the molecular basis of active nuclear receptor ligands.
In addition, Prof. Burton was director of the Departamento de Química Orgánica twice (2004 and 2008) and has been director of the Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica (UMYMFOR) from CONICET and UBA since 2001. This institute contributes to the development of scientific research and organic chemistry in Argentina, giving a variety of spectroscopical and analytical services to the scientific community and industrial sectors. Prof. Burton was also the president of the Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Química Orgánica (SAIQO) and coordinator of the Comité Asesor del Sistema Nacional de Resonancia Magnética (MINCYT). In addition, he actively collaborates with various research groups and has directed different national and international grants, public as well as private. His research projects have been supported by ANPCYT, CONICET and the Universidad de Buenos Aires, among others.
For all of these contributions, Prof. Burton has been distinguished with several prizes such as the Premio Dr. Pedro Berdoy (1974 – Asociación Química Argentina), Premio Dr. Luis Schwarstein (1985 – Sociedad Argentina de Endocrinología y Metabolismo), Premio Bernardo A. Houssay (1987 – CONICET), Diploma al Mérito en Ciencia y Tecnología (1993 – Fundación Konex) and Premio Dr. Rafael Labriola (1992/1993 – Asociación Química Argentina). In 2005 he was appointed Académico by the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, in Córdoba, Argentina.
Biography adapted from: http://www.anc-argentina.org.ar/es/institucional/academicos/todos-nuestros-academicos/gerardo-burton/