Michael Burton

Assistant Professor - Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Tags: Cognition and Neuroscience
About Michael Burton

Research Areas

Research Interests
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. How peripheral stimuli communicate to the CNS to elicit complex behaviors: An emphasis on pain, depression, and metabolism.
Research Statement
Dr. Burton is a new Assistant Professor whose research focuses on how the immune system modulates peripheral sensory neurons to regulate pain and energy homeostasis. Michael received his BS and PhD in Animal Sciences with a focus on Immunophysiology and Behavior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then moved to Dallas, TX to begin his postdoctoral fellowship work in the Department of Hypothalamic Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center. There Michael gained skills in molecular genetics, neuroendocrinology, and neuroanatomy; in studies that focused on how peripheral ganglia recognized dietary components. He then moved to the UT-Dallas campus to focus on how immune cells influence the transition to chronic pain. It was the fusion of these 2 experiences that formed the basis of a recently awarded NIH-Transition-to-Faculty Award. He believes in order to traverse the gap between basic research and clinical application to the patient, we must realize and appreciate pre-clinical research. He is excited at the notion to play a role in this process, and help humankind through his research in pain development, depression, and metabolic disorders that we deal with every day.

News Articles

New Hires Strengthen BBS' Expertise in Neuroscience, Psychology
Two new assistant professors have joined the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) faculty this fall, and one is a familiar face.

Dr. Michael Burton, added as an assistant professor of neuroscience, has been a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas at Dallas since 2015. He joins Dr. Jiyoung Park, assistant professor of psychology, as new tenure-track professors in BBS this semester.
Postdoctoral Researcher Receives NIH Grant to Help Advance His Work, Teaching Aspirations
A postdoctoral researcher in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences has won a prestigious grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that is intended to help him further his research and transition to a faculty position. It is the first time that a postdoc from UT Dallas has won the award.

Dr. Michael Burton, who works in the neuroscience department with associate professor Dr. Ted Price, will receive approximately $800,000 for winning a K22 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The grant will provide funds for Burton’s research on how the immune system can affect pain. 
BBS Professor, Biomedical Engineering Doctoral Student Earn Awards
Dr. Michael Burton, an assistant professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, has received the 2019 Mitchell Max Award for Research Excellence from the National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium.

Burton was selected for his presentation on delayed-onset neuropathic pain in older men. His research suggests that immune system hyperactivity at an advanced age can trigger hyperexcitability in neurons that can produce chronic pain long after an injury.
Researchers Chronicle Sex Differences in Origin of Chronic Pain at Cellular Level
Scientists in The University of Texas at Dallas’ Center for Advanced Pain Studies (CAPS) have furthered the understanding of how chronic pain functions differently in males and females, including identifying different ways pain begins at the cellular level.

Researchers from the Department of Neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) teamed up with colleagues from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute on two studies published Aug. 5 and Sept. 16 in the journal Pain. Their work builds upon earlier studies from CAPS faculty regarding sex dimorphisms — differences between the sexes.

“As recently as 2014, laboratories were using only males to analyze what was happening, and that led to failures in clinical and preclinical trials,” said Dr. Michael Burton, assistant professor of neuroscience and co-senior author of both papers. “It was apparent that something was missing from the equation.