Jacob Burns

Jacob Burns is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology (IBE) at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), specializing in Evidence-Based Public Health. He has been a Research Associate with the Collaboration for Evidence-Based Healthcare and Public Health in Africa (CEBHA+) since 2017 and teaches in LMU's Master of Public Health and Epidemiology programs.

Education:

• PhD in Epidemiology and Public Health, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2013–present)
• Master of Science in Epidemiology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2010–2012)
• Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, University of Arkansas, USA (2006–2010)

Burns' research centers on evidence-based public health methodology, with expertise in systematic reviews of complex interventions, evidence synthesis techniques, and evaluation of public health programs. His work emphasizes contextual factors in implementation and spans environmental health domains including air pollution, lead exposure, and sugar-sweetened beverage interventions. He develops innovative review methods such as harvest plots and gap analysis to bridge evidence and policy.

His publication record since 2011 reveals consistent focus on methodological advancements in evidence synthesis, particularly for complex public health interventions. Key thematic clusters include environmental health interventions (air pollution, lead exposure), nutrition policy (sugar-sweetened beverages), and framework development for context-aware implementation. Burns frequently contributes to Cochrane reviews and collaborates internationally on health technology assessment projects.

Burns has secured significant research funding through the EU-funded INTEGRATE-HTA program (2013–2015) and the ongoing CEBHA+ initiative. Though no formal advisees are listed, he actively mentors students through his teaching roles in LMU's Master of Public Health program, covering evidence-based medicine and epidemiology specializations.

He operates within the Evidence-Based Public Health working group at IBE, contributing to the Context and Implementation of Complex Interventions (CICI) Framework. His current work with CEBHA+ focuses on strengthening evidence-based healthcare systems across multiple African nations through capacity building and context-specific implementation strategies.