Dr Kharis Burns is a clinician scientist specialising in reproductive endocrinology. She serves as an endocrinologist at the Keogh Institute for Medical Research and holds multiple academic positions, including Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia and Clinical Associate Lecturer at the University of Sydney. Additionally, she is a staff specialist and Co-Head of Diabetes and Endocrinology at Royal Perth Hospital, WA, overseeing a team of nine consultants, along with registrars and residents.

In 2009, Dr Burns graduated with Honours from the University of Sydney's medical school and became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians in 2017. She earned her PhD under the guidance of distinguished Professors Bronwyn Stuckey AM and Gerald Watts, focusing on the aetiology and outcomes of polycystic ovary syndrome, with her findings presented in both Australia and the USA.

Dr Burns has authored 22 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including nine as the first author. Notably, she published a significant first-author paper in BMC Genomics in 2024 and is a senior author on a manuscript, NG-A65275R, which has been “accepted in principle” for Nature Genetics in 2025. She has actively participated in national and international conferences, presenting her research in both oral and poster formats. Her work has been recognised with outstanding abstract awards at ESA 2022 and ESA 2023.

As the clinical lead of the Inborn Errors of Metabolism Service at UWA, Dr Burns is also a member of several professional organisations, including the Human Genetics Society of Australasia, the Endocrine Society of Australia, and the Endocrine Society (US). Dr Burns has successfully led three competitively funded research grants and independently established the International Lean PCOS Consortium, which includes six international cohorts totalling 254,588 subjects, culminating in a publication in 2024.