Debra Burns

Dr. Debra Burns, PhD, MT-BC is Professor and Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts At the University of Memphis. Dr. Burns holds a PhD in Music Education and Music Therapy from the University of Kansas, MM in Music Therapy from Illinois State University and a BA in Music Education from Glenville State College in West Virginia. She also completed 5 years of postdoctoral training funded by the Walther Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She specializes in music-based intervention research using mixed methodologies across the cancer treatment continuum from disease-directed treatment, survivorship, and end of life. She has collaborated and consulted on several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health specializing in research methodology, determining the essential components of music interventions, designing appropriate control conditions, and monitoring treatment fidelity. Her publication record includes over 25 papers published in journals such as Journal of Music Therapy, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, and Supportive Care in Cancer. She has been an active member of the American Music Therapy Association since 1989, serving on the Assembly of Delegates, the research committee, and the editorial board of Music Therapy Perspectives, and the Journal of Music Therapy.