Burton
Laboratory
Metabolism, the Microbiome and Disease Risk
The gut microbiome is a community of trillions of bacteria, viruses and other microbes that supports digestion, regulates the immune system and contributes to many other important functions in the body. Disruptions to this intricate ecosystem have been linked to nearly every chronic health problem, including inflammatory, metabolic and neurological disorders. However, these associations are mostly correlative, and there remains limited mechanistic understanding of how changes in an individual’s microbiome contribute to or protect against various human pathologies.
The Burton Lab explores a novel, emerging question in microbiome research: How, mechanistically, does the microbiome contribute to or protect against disease, especially in people with genetic variants that predispose them to specific metabolic or neurodegenerative disorders? To find answers, we developed a high-throughput, C. elegans-based screening platform to study the relationship between diet, microbial environment and health. We work to better understand how the microbiome can protect against disease, especially in the context of genetic risk, with the goal of informing new prevention and treatment strategies.
To this end, we focus on:
- Identifying environmental bacteria and bacterial by-products that promote resilience to disease and mitigate disease risk
- Determining the molecular mechanisms by which bacteria affect host physiology
- Investigating the interplay between the microbiome and mitochondria
Join Our Team
We are continually seeking highly motivated individuals to join the lab! Interested candidates should email Dr. Burton at [email protected]. Open positions also are posted on VAI’s Careers page.
Our Impact
We’re raising thousands to save millions.
We’re turning hope into action for the millions of people around the world affected by diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s. Find out how you can help us make a difference.
- 141 peer-reviewed papers published in 2025, 74 of which were in high-impact journals
- 15 VAI-SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team clinical trials launched to date
- 10 clinical trials and related projects supported by VAI through the International Linked Clinical Trials Program
Nick Burton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Areas of Expertise
Metabolism, microbiome, intergenerational inheritance, C. elegans, host-microbiome interactions, mitochondria
Biography
Dr. Nick Burton investigates how the microbiome can promote health or, when things go wrong, fuel disease. His research explores why some people with genetic risk are protected from disease while others are affected.
He joined Van Andel Institute as an assistant professor in 2021. Prior to establishing his lab, he was a Next Generation Fellow at University of Cambridge’s Centre for Trophoblast Research, where he studied how environmental bacteria affect development, physiology, metabolism and neuronal function in individuals and their offspring.
Dr. Burton earned a B.S. in biology from University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he worked in the labs of Dr. Anna Huttenlocher and Dr. Scott Kennedy. He was awarded a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and went on to earn a Ph.D. in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the mentorship of Dr. H. Robert Horvitz. As part of his dissertation work, Dr. Burton worked to develop new paradigms to study the mechanisms by which parental environment regulates offspring physiology.
Jason Cooper, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Erik Frost
Senior Administrative Assistant II, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Darrick Gates, B.S.
Lab Manager, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Marco Mechan Llontop, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Kelsie Nauta, Ph.D.
Project Leader I, Burton Laboratory
Kim Nguyen, B.S.
Research Technician, Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming
Cristian Alejandro Ricaurte Perez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Burton Laboratory
Xiao Wang
Ph.D. Student, VAI Graduate School
Research focus to be determined.
Devia Williams
Ph.D. Student, VAI Graduate School
Research focus to be determined.
The Burton Lab partners with Lowell High School to offer students real-world research experience. Learn more about this work by exploring the links below.
Could backyard bacteria and hungry worms help solve a central problem in Type 2 diabetes?
Van Andel Institute scientists teamed up with a trio of intrepid students from Lowell High School to collect soil samples from around West Michigan in the hopes of finding microbes that might help solve a key mechanism underlying Type 2 diabetes.
Hands-on experiments create a love for science
WOOD-TV’s Maranda stopped by to see the partnership firsthand as students from Lowell High School engaged in a science experiment focusing on helpful bacteria.