Professor Burns is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology and Academic Lead of the Centre for Sport, Physical Education and Activity Research (Spear) at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), UK. Previously, she was Director of the Salomons Institute for Applied Psychology, and Head of the School of Psychology, Politics and Sociology. Prof Burns has been a researcher focussing on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, throughout her career, and in the last decade specifically on sport as a vehicle to increase the quality for life and opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Prof Burns worked with an international team to develop Paralympic classification processes to re-allow athletes with intellectual disabilities to compete in the Paralympics which was achieved for the London 2012 Games. This research received the Gold Award for Exceptional Research contribution to the Olympic/Paralympics, awarded by the Research Councils UK, and Prof Burns was featured as Paralympic scientist in Nature. Prof Burns is an Non Executive Board member of both Virtus: World Intellectual Impairment Sport and Special Olympics Great Britain. Prof Burns remains very active in research related to sport and people with intellectual disabilities, and is currently working with the International Paralympic Committee on developing classification. 

Prof Burns completed a BSc in Psychology in Manchester, a PhD at the University of Cardiff and then trained as a Clinical Psychologist at the University of Leeds. She then worked for the National Health Service, as a clinician and service manager in services for people with intellectual disabilities, before becoming a researcher and academic first at the University of Leeds, and subsequently CCCU. In 2015 she was awarded a Member of the British Empire (MBE) medal by the Queen for her service to people with intellectual disabilities.