Dr John Burnett is a Consultant Chemical Pathologist in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at PathWest Laboratory Medicine Royal Perth Hospital & Fiona Stanley Hospital Network and Clinical Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Western Australia. He received his undergraduate medical education at the University of Otago and FRCPA in the discipline of Chemical Pathology.

Dr Burnett was a Fellow in Medical Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine at Western University and recipient of a Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada Research Fellowship at the Robarts Research Institute. He completed a PhD in Biochemistry at Western University for a thesis titled "Regulation of apolipoprotein B containing lipoprotein secretion by cholesterol and/or cholesteryl esters in vivo: tracer kinetic studies in miniature pigs", and was subsequently awarded the higher degree of MD from the University of Otago for a thesis titled "Regulation of apolipoprotein B metabolism: tracer kinetics, models and metabolic studies".

His research has contributed to understanding of the structure, metabolism, and function of the plasma lipoproteins and their link to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Dr Burnett has received project funding from the Raine Medical Research Foundation, National Heart Foundation, National Health & Medical Research Foundation, Royal Perth Hospital Medical Research Foundation, the Commonwealth Government and has published over 185 peer reviewed articles/reviews and 15 book chapters.

He was the 2007 AACB Roman Travelling Lecturer, Editor-in-Chief of Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from 2008-2012, recipient of a 3-year Practitioner Fellowship and Senior Medical Research Award from the Royal Perth Hospital Medical Research Foundation in 2012, Visiting Scholar to the Department of Chemical Pathology of the University of Cape Town in 2014, External Examiner for the MD in Chemical Pathology for the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo in 2019, 2021 and 2024, External Examiner in Chemical Pathology for the Hong Kong College of Pathologists in 2020, recipient of an AACB Outstanding Service Medallion Diamond Jubilee Award in 2021, JACC Elite Reviewer Award in 2022, and Simon Dack Award for Outstanding Scholarship from the American College of Cardiology in 2023.

Dr Burnett has served the RCPA as State Councillor, Member of Council, Board of Directors, Board of Education & Assessment, Foundation Chair of the Faculty of Science, Chair of the Chemical Pathology Advisory Committee, and Chief Examiner in Chemical Pathology. He is a long-stanging Member of the WA State Committee, Chair of the Steering Committee of the Manual Transformation Project, Member of the Community Advisory Committee, and Senior Associate Editor Clinical Pathology of the international journal Pathology.