Ian Meadows Burr

Dr. Burr was an accomplished physician, scientist, teacher, mentor and clinician. He graduated from the University of Melbourne Medical School and received a PhD from Monash University. In 1966 he came to the US for research and clinical care in pediatric endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. From 1968 to 1970 he was appointed as the Charge de Recherche at the University of Geneva in Switzerland at the Institute of Clinical Biochemistry. He returned to the US in 1971 to join the faculty at Vanderbilt as professor of pediatrics, investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institution and Director of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology. He left Vanderbilt in 1986 to chair the department of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

Dr. Burr returned to Vanderbilt in 1988 as the James C. Overall Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. During his time at Vanderbilt he was the founding Chair of the Academic Pediatric Society’s Section on Diabetes. He was also the co-founder of the Cumberland Pediatric Foundation, a joint enterprise between Vanderbilt-based pediatric faculty and practicing pediatricians in the region to build education and provide evidence-based guidelines for care.

As a pediatric endocrinologist he made fundamental contributions to the field of diabetes type 1, and these contributions are appreciated through his more than 130 publications in multiple academic medical journals. In addition and he was elected to the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Pediatric Society.

Dr. Burr led considerable expansion in the Department of Pediatrics over his tenure as chairman until 1999 and was instrumental in establishing the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. He continued as Vice Chancellor for Children’s Health Services. After his retirement, the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology was renamed the Ian M. Burr Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes in his honor.

Ian’s family was a central part of his life. He cared deeply for those he loved and expressed his affection through kindness and a genuine desire to help and support them. He had a lifelong love of running and took part in numerous races in Nashville as a member of the Nashville Striders. He was proud of his Australian roots and enjoyed lying in the sun with a Coke, a reminder of his youth at the beach in Australia. Through the years he maintained close friendships with medical school colleagues and friends in Australia.

Ian was preceded death in death by his parents, his first wife Wendy, his son Craig, and his sister Valda O’Keeffe in Melbourne, Australia.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Cindy, his loving daughter Karen (Jim) Salemme in Groton, MA, his sister Jill Shegedyn in Melbourne, his brother Brian (Mary) Burr in Manhattan, N.Y., and brother-in-law Colm O’Keeffe in Melbourne. Also, he is survived by three grandchildren, Colin Alsheimer (Alyssa), Kelly Alsheimer, and Ryan Burr; one great grandchild, Ethan Alsheimer, and several nieces and nephews.

Ian was kind, gentle and easy going. He will be remembered for the children whose care he helped advance, the hospital he helped bring to life, the colleagues, medical students and physicians he mentored, and the family and friends who held a special place in his life.

The family would like to especially thank the caregivers from Amada Sr. Care, Malik, Zahra, JaQuish, Gloria and Zak who provided exceptional love and care for Ian, along with staff of Alive Hospice.

A memorial celebration of life will be held Wednesday, October 28 between 3-6 PM in the Bennett Hall Social Room at the Scarritt Bennett Center, 1027 18th Avenue South.

In Ian’s memory, please consider a donation to the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.