Dr. Burton is an Assistant Professor in the Systems Neuroscience Program at The University of Texas at Dallas. His research focuses on how the immune system modulates peripheral sensory neurons to regulate pain and energy homeostasis. Dr. Burton received his BS and PhD in Animal Science 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. He then moved to UT Dallas for a 2nd postdoc. Dr. Burton transitioned to a tenure-track position in the summer of 2017. 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, obesity, and metabolic disorders that we deal with every day.