An injury ended his football dreams; now he is fighting against long-standing trends in science

Playing Division I football and studying science are ambitious goals, but Michael Burton dared to try both in his first semester of college.

The young man from Chicago had a chance. He is about 6'2″ tall and joined the training team of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini as a freshman.

But like other first-year science students, he had his hands full. Introductory science courses at university are often several courses in one, with lectures, mini-courses, labs, homework and exams in rooms of 200 or more people. Add to that learning a strategy book, training and practicing several times a week.

Burton made it through his first semester. Then an injury in practice changed his career. He suffered a herniated disc between the C5 and C6 vertebrae in the upper part of his spine. That ended his football career. But he received his doctorate in 2012 and is now a professor of neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“It was really disappointing,” he said. “I was able to swing a few eyes [on the field] and people started noticing me – but in the end I got really hurt.”

There were times when his painkillers didn't work. He got migraines. At times he couldn't feel his fingertips. Once he had an allergic reaction to morphine and developed hives.

Burton began to ask: What made some pains different from others? Why was he in so much pain? But he also said he had become more irritable. More depressed. How did his injury lead to these other side effects?

And as he focused on his research, he asked himself: How could he get more people like him, from diverse backgrounds, interested in STEM?

It was a turning point: As an athlete, Burton could no longer exceed expectations and decided to fight against long-standing trends in science.

Lack of representation

According to the National Science Foundation, Black scientists like Burton are the least represented in the nation's science and engineering workforce in terms of race and ethnicity. Nearly 7% of all bachelor's degrees awarded to Black students come from students in fields related to the biological and agricultural sciences.

On the road to recovery, Burton found opportunities for social and professional development in programs specifically designed for students from diverse backgrounds.

He became a McNair Scholar, part of a federal program that helps freshmen and historically underrepresented students earn college degrees. The program is named after Ronald McNair, a scientist and astronaut who was among the seven crew members killed in the 1986 explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

Burton grew up in a single-parent household and lived with his mother and brother in Chicago. The McNair Fellowship opened up the opportunity for him to pursue graduate studies.

These experiences have led Burton to continually strive to provide similar opportunities for his students, a passion he shares with his colleague and wife, Erica Sanchez, a biology professor at UTD.

“The fact that we are both scientists of color has brought us even closer together in terms of our experiences as young scientists,” Sanchez said.

Growing up in a small rural town, Sanchez didn't see many biologists or professors. It was hard to figure out what those jobs entailed. But she was ambitious. And even though she didn't know much about science, she wanted to cure cancer.

She earned her bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology from the University of California Davis and her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Washington. She is currently researching Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, a virus that causes cancer and is linked to herpes.

Both Burton and Sanchez are involved in organizations that seek to attract people of diverse backgrounds to science. Sanchez is involved with the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science. Burton is involved with Black In Neuro, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring black voices in neuroscience.

In addition, both regularly attend the annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Scientists hosted by the American Society of Microbiology.

A jewel for Dallas

Like Sanchez, Burton had ambitions to understand and treat pain. These ambitions led him to Rodney Johnson, who is not a pain researcher.

Johnson studies the immune system. He is also assistant dean for research and director of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

There is an overlap between immune system researchers and pain researchers, Johnson said. He explained that some molecules in the immune system cause sickness behavior, such as decreased appetite and fatigue. The same molecules, called cytokines, can also increase the body's sensitivity to things that cause pain. These were some of the molecules Burton studied during his graduate studies.

“Michael was very inquisitive and hardworking and displayed all the qualities you would expect in a potential PhD student,” said Johnson. Burton earned his PhD under Johnson.

After recovering from his injury and completing his Ph.D., Burton took time for himself. He moved to Dallas for a postdoctoral fellowship, a training position for researchers who have completed their doctoral work, first at UT Southwestern Medical Center and then at UT Dallas.

Burton's research currently focuses on integrative biology, understanding the relationships between organisms and their environment. In particular, he is looking at how age, alcohol consumption and a high-fat diet affect the immune system and how this can affect the nervous system, pain, depression and other behaviors.

After moving to Dallas, Burton met Ted Price, a professor who researches non-opioid pain therapies and is director of the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at UT Dallas.

“It’s a real gem for the city of Dallas,” Price said.

Since becoming colleagues, they have collaborated on 21 peer-reviewed papers, and Price praised Burton for his work in engaging students and developing research and career development programs.

Promoting young talent

Thomas Szabo-Pardi is one of Burton's first graduate students. He said the stars aligned for Burton to become one of his mentors. Szabo-Pardi was finishing his bachelor's degree at UTD when Burton arrived on campus. Szabo-Pardi wasn't sure what he wanted to do next.

“I owe my success to him,” Szabo-Pardi said. “Whether you're an undergraduate, graduate or doctoral student, he really wants to make sure you're set up for success.”

Burton's other students include Natalia Lucia dos Santos and Calvin Uong. While academic mentors often try to push students into academia, Burton supports the career paths his students want to pursue, the authors say.

Natalia Lucia dos Santos now works in the biotechnology industry after realizing that an academic career was not for her. Uong worked in Burton's lab as an undergraduate and graduated in 2022. He published a peer-reviewed paper at Burton and is now applying to medical school.

Jessica Tierney was an undergraduate and worked with Burton. She also worked with Burton as a master's student and is now pursuing her MD/Ph.D. at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Burton helped her understand what it means to be a researcher, but he also helped her understand how to teach by thoroughly explaining the methods in the lab, she said.

Find your position

Burton and Sanchez first met at a conference in North Carolina—a gathering for new researchers opening their labs. Before the end of the summer, the two scientists will celebrate their first anniversary.

“We go bird watching, we like hiking, we travel a lot,” said Sanchez. “We applied for a few grants together. It [work/life] are intertwined… but it is a balance.”

Burton said that now that he has established himself as an associate professor, he can focus on other aspects of his work as a scientist.

Although he wanted to focus on pain research after his injury, Burton said working with Johnson helped him break away from his “me research” because their ideas overlapped but not completely.

This allowed him to stop focusing on his own pain and instead help others.

“The resilience of one person can pay off for everyone,” Price said.

Jordan Chapman reports science for The Dallas Morning News as part of a fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.