
A master at fostering understanding.
Creates a collaborative learning environment.
Brings energy and passion to every lesson.
Always fair, kind, and deeply insightful.
Great Professor!
Dr Michael Bourke is a lecturer and biomedical researcher at the University of Newcastle, affiliated with the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy and the Central Coast Clinical School within the Joint Medical Program. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Newcastle. Bourke's research interests center on vascular biology, encompassing abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, vascular remodeling, and thrombosis. He leads the New South Wales Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease - Vascular Biobank as Principal Investigator, facilitating research on conditions including abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid artery disease, chronic venous insufficiency, lower limb occlusive disease, deep vein thrombosis, lymphoedema, and diabetic foot disease through biospecimen collection and clinical data.
Throughout his career, Bourke has contributed to significant advancements in vascular research, often collaborating with teams from the Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease. Notable publications include co-authorship on "Editor's choice–metformin prescription is associated with a reduction in the combined incidence of surgical repair and rupture related mortality in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm" (European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, 2019), "Association of serum lipoprotein (a) with the requirement for a peripheral artery operation and the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events in people with peripheral artery disease" (Journal of the American Heart Association, 2020), and the FAME-2 trial results "Randomized placebo‐controlled trial assessing the effect of 24‐week fenofibrate therapy on circulating markers of abdominal aortic aneurysm" (Journal of the American Heart Association, 2018). Additional contributions appear in the TEDY trial protocol "TElmisartan in the management of abDominal aortic aneurYsm (TEDY)" (Trials, 2015) and earlier neuroscience work such as "Ten-m2 is required for the generation of binocular visual circuits" (Journal of Neuroscience, 2013). Bourke teaches human bioscience courses for nursing and midwifery students and has participated in internal grants such as the SBSP Equipment Grant.