Research Summary

Dr. Burke is an affiliated Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology, History and Social Medicine. She is also a member of the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center and Co-Director of the UC-Cuba Academic Initiative. In 2015 she became Chair of Public Health at the University of California, Merced. She has conducted research in Cuba and the U.S. on social and cultural processes associated with chronic disease management, clinical trials recruitment and participation, and disparities in cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship. Her research program addresses subjectivity, bioethics, and culture. Over the last eight years she has worked in partnership with the Pilipino Senior Resource Center on studies of Filipina breast cancer support disparities and peer navigation. She is currently principal investigator of a study of complex care management clinics in safety net hospitals.

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2018 - June 1, 2023 - Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center , Co-Investigator/Community Core Lead . Sponsor: TRDRP Tobacco Policy Disparity Center, Sponsor Award ID: unknown
  • December 1, 2020 - November 30, 2022 - Getting Asian Americans INFORMED to Facilitate COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination , unknown . Sponsor: NIH/NIDA RADxUP, Sponsor Award ID: unknown
  • September 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021 - Share, Trust, Organize, Partner: The COVID-19 California Alliance (STOP COVID-19 CA) , Site PI . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: unknown
  • October 1, 2018 - September 30, 2020 - Soc-Net: A Social Network Analysis of Poverty and Healthcare Utilization , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NSF, Sponsor Award ID: unknown
  • September 26, 2014 - July 31, 2019 - Health literacy systems in the safety net: Lessons from complex care management , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01NR015233
  • June 20, 2014 - May 31, 2016 - Addressing Oral Health Literacy among Mexican Immigrants , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NIDCR, Sponsor Award ID: R21DE024261
  • July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2014 - Communicating about Clinical Trials:Bringing the CIS to the Underserved , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: K07CA126999

Education

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, B.A., 1990
English Literature, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, M.A., 1995
Cultural Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, Ph.D., 2001, Ethnology

Honors & Awards

  • 1990
    Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
  • 1994
    Graduate Teaching Fellowship, University of Oregon
  • 1996-1999
    Latin American Institute Ph.D. Fellowship, University of New Mexico
  • 2001-2002
    Qualitative Data Analysis Consultant, SPORE (Special Projects of Research Excellence), University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
  • 2001-2002
    Qualitative Data Analysis Consultant, The Hope Heart Institute, Organ Donation/Transplantation Project
  • 2002
    Behavioral Sciences Committee G Member, Institutional Review Board for Research Concerning Human Subjects, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  • 2003
    Latino Studies Research and Dissertation Award, Latin American Studies Association, Honorable Mention
  • 2003
    Fellow, NCI-funded Cancer, Culture, and Literacy Institute, Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, January 4-9
  • 2004-present
    National Institutes of Health, Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program
  • 2005
    Advanced Training Institute on Health Behavior Theory, National Cancer Institute, Madison, Wisconsin, June 19-26
  • COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
  • 1998-2000
    Member of the BOD, Latin American Association for Development, Albuquerque, NM
  • 2000
    Advisory Board Member, Communities Count Social and Health Indicators Initiative Data Collection Partnerships: Perspective from Under-Represented Groups, King County Public Health, Seattle, WA
  • 2000-2002
    Member of the BOD, Cambodian Women's Association, Seattle, WA
  • 2006-present
    Member, Filipino Community Cancer Collaborative
  • 2012
    Zero Breast Cancer Honor Thy Healer Community Researcher Award

Selected Publications

  1. Rodriguez Espinosa P, Martinez Mulet Y, Wolfe N, Burke NJ, Sorkin DH, Zender R, Weeks-Norton KL, Balcazar G, Corchado CG, Aguilar-Gaxiola S. Strengthening Community Health Worker and Promotora Workforce Capacity. JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Apr 01; 9(4):e266037. View on PubMed
  2. Murphy KA, Livaudais-Toman J, Kaplan CP, Kerlikowske K, Burke NJ, Karliner LS. Assessing Preparedness of Primary Care Physicians to Discuss the Breast Biopsy Process and Results after Abnormal Mammograms: A Cross-Sectional Survey. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2026 Jan; 35(2):144-151. View on PubMed
  3. Schneider S, Payán DD, Song AV, Morgan J, Jones Barker L, Burke NJ. Building Tobacco Control and Cannabis Policy Capacity and Partnerships in Rural California. Health Promot Pract. 2025 Nov 04; 15248399251388450. View on PubMed
  4. Trejo E, Velazquez AI, Castillo E, Couey P, Cicerelli B, McBride R, Burke NJ, Dixit N. Acceptability and Feasibility of Survivorship Group Medical Visits for Breast Cancer Survivors in a Safety Net Hospital. J Cancer Educ. 2024 Aug; 39(4):445-454. View on PubMed
  5. Nápoles TM, Ekl EA, Nicklas J, Gómez-Pathak L, Yen IH, Carrillo D, de Leon K, Burke NJ, Perry BL, Shim JK. Mixed Methods for Research on Support Networks of People Experiencing Chronic Illness and Social Marginalization. Qual Health Res. 2025 05; 35(6):575-588. View on PubMed
  6. Burke NJ, Espinosa PR, Corchado CC, Vázquez E, Rosas LG, Wooe KJ, LeSarre M, Gallegos-Castillo A, Cheney A, Lo DD, Hintz R, Vassar SD, Brown AF. Toward decolonized fiscal relationships between universities and community organizations: Lessons learned from the California Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19. Crit Public Health. 2024; 34(1):1-13. View on PubMed
  7. Rodriguez Espinosa P, Vázquez E, AuYoung M, Zaldivar F, Cheney AM, Sorkin D, Zender R, Corchado CG, Burke NJ. Partnering With Community Health Workers to Address COVID-19 Health Inequities: Experiences of the California Alliance Against COVID-19. Am J Public Health. 2024 01; 114(S1):S45-S49. View on PubMed
  8. Perez-Lua FM, Chan-Golston AM, Burke NJ, Young MT. The Influence of Organizational Aspects of the U.S. Agricultural Industry and Socioeconomic and Political Conditions on Farmworkers' COVID-19 Workplace Safety. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 12 03; 20(23). View on PubMed
  9. Garibay KK, Burke NJ, Ramírez AS, Payán DD. Examining the Role and Strategies of Advocacy Coalitions in California's Statewide Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Debate (2001-2018). Am J Health Promot. 2024 01; 38(1):101-111. View on PubMed
  10. Goliaei Z, Gonzalez M, Diaz Rios K, Pokhrel M, Burke NJ. Post-Resettlement Food Insecurity: Afghan Refugees and Challenges of the New Environment. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 05 17; 20(10). View on PubMed
  11. Thao C, Yen IH, Ha S, Burke NJ. Pesticide Take-Home Pathways, Storage, and Application Methods Among Hmong Farmers in Central Valley, California. J Agromedicine. 2023 10; 28(4):726-733. View on PubMed
  12. Adkins-Jackson PB, Burke NJ, Espinosa PR, Ison JM, Goold SD, Rosas LG, Doubeni CA, Brown AF, STOP COVID-19 California Alliance Trial Participation and Vaccine Hesitancy Working Groups. Inclusionary Trials: A Review of Lessons Not Learned. Epidemiol Rev. 2022 12 21; 44(1):78-86. View on PubMed
  13. Flynn SJ, Livaudais-Toman J, Kaplan CP, Kerlikowske K, Burke NJ, Pathak S, Karliner LS. Primary Care Physicians' Perceived Barriers to Follow-Up of Abnormal Mammogram Results: Opportunities for Systems-Level Interventions. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 05; 38(7):1786-1788. View on PubMed
  14. Casillas A, Rosas LG, Carson SL, Orechwa A, North G, AuYoung M, Kim G, Guereca JA, Ramers CB, Burke NJ, Corchado CG, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Cheney A, Rabin BA, Stadnick NA, Oswald W, Cabrera A, Sorkin DH, Zaldivar F, Wong W, Yerraguntala AS, Vassar SD, Wright AL, Washington DL, Norris KC, Brown AF. STOP COVID-19 CA: Community engagement to address the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in California. Front Health Serv. 2022; 2:935297. View on PubMed
  15. Cheng J, Tsoh JY, Guan A, Luu M, Nguyen IV, Tan R, Thao C, Yu E, Lor D, Pham M, Choi J, Kim M, Stewart SL, Burke NJ. Engaging Asian American Communities During the COVID-19 Era Tainted With Anti-Asian Hate and Distrust. Am J Public Health. 2022 11; 112(S9):S864-S868. View on PubMed
  16. Dixit N, Rodriguez G, Sarkar U, Burke N, Trejo E, Devore DJ, Couey P, Nápoles AM. Identifying the Needs of Primary Care Providers Caring for Breast and Colon Cancer Survivors in the Safety-Net: a Qualitative Study. J Cancer Educ. 2023 06; 38(3):845-853. View on PubMed
  17. Evelin Trejo, Ana I. Velazquez, Elizabeth Castillo, Barbara Cicerelli, Robin McBride, Nancy J. Burke, Niharika Dixit. Abstract P4-11-19: Utilization of the RE-AIM frameworkfor evaluating the implementation of group medical visit for low-income breast cancer survivors. Cancer Research. 2022 Feb 15; 82(4_Supplement):p4-11-19-p4-11-19. View on PubMed
  18. Payán DD, Burke NJ, Persinger J, Martinez J, Jones Barker L, Song AV. Public support for policies to regulate flavoured tobacco and e-cigarette products in rural California. Tob Control. 2023 04; 32(e1):e125-e129. View on PubMed
  19. Lopez A, Hoeft KS, Guerra C, Barker JC, Chung LH, Burke NJ. Spanish-speaking Mexican-American parents' experiences while navigating the dental care system for their children. J Public Health Dent. 2022 Jan; 82(1):99-104. View on PubMed
  20. Hanssmann C, Shim JK, Yen IH, Fleming MD, Van Natta M, Thompson-Lastad A, Rasidjan MP, Burke NJ. "Housing Is Health Care": Treating Homelessness in Safety-net Hospitals. Med Anthropol Q. 2022 03; 36(1):44-63. View on PubMed

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