Professor Scott Burris has received the Paul W. Eberman Faculty Research Award from Temple University for his work in establishing the field of public health law. Burris, whose research combines law and science, was a pioneer in developing the legal response to HIV/AIDS and has been instrumental in shaping public policy on a wide range of issues, from the use of criminal laws to control risky behavior to harm reduction measures for prostitutes and drug users. “The answers to these problems aren’t really legal. They turn on scientific evidence,” Burris said. “To understand the cases, one has to understand not just the law, but also the social construction of disease.”
Burris has forged a career out of doing just that. In addition to teaching and conducting his own research, Burris is the Director of the Public Health Law Research program at Temple Law, a clearinghouse to identify promising research and fund it through a $17 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is also the co-director of the Center for Health Law, Policy, and Practice.