Understanding Obesity: USU Undergrad Partners with USTAR Researcher

Utah State University undergraduate Andrew Burgon tells family and friends his faculty mentor David York is to obesity research what director Steven Spielberg is to filmmaking.

"I'm incredibly fortunate to be working with someone of his stature," says Burgon, a biology major who graduated from Utah's Logan High School in 2002. "Not only is he a great thinker, but he takes the time to involve me in every aspect of the experimental process."

Burgon, who hopes to enter medical or dental school, sought research opportunities through his advisor, who directed him to York.

"My first task was helping Dr. York unpack boxes and set up his lab," says Burgon.

Formerly with Louisiana State University's renowned Pennington Biomedical Research Center, York joined USU in 2006 as one of the first researchers recruited through the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative. He's director of USU's nascent Center for Advanced Nutrition, which is focused on exploring the impact of nutrition on such 21st century plagues as obesity, Type II diabetics and cardiovascular disease.

Burgon, York and research assistant professor MieJung Park, are investigating a peptide called enterostatin that is produced in the brain, pancreas and gastrointestinal tract in response to the ingestion of fat.

"We've used microarray genomic approaches to identify genes that are regulated and functional pathways affected by enterostatin," says Burgon.

At each step of the project, says Burgon, York and Park have taught him various experimental processes and techniques and then allowed him to run the experiment.

"They're so proactive about promoting undergraduate research," he says of his mentors. "It's really cool to have these hands-on experiences and be a part of an important project."

Over the course of the study, Burgon has been introduced to phase contrast and fluorescent microscopy used in conjunction with immunohistochemistry. "These are lab processes and techniques that you simply can't learn in the classroom," he says.

The team's study shows that enterostatin regulates dietary fat intake by inhibiting the release of a protein that slows an organism's appetite for fat.

"This is cutting-edge research," says Burgon. "We're literally discovering molecular processes. We're part of discoveries that have implications for controlling obesity, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease ? discoveries that could be society-changing."

Along with York and Park, Burgon is publishing the results of the study and plans to present the research at an upcoming professional meeting. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for me as an undergrad," says Burgon. "I'm learning so much. Plus, it will look really good on my application when I'm ready to apply for professional school."

Before selecting Utah State as his college destination, Burgon considered another school that touted teaching over research. "Because they are a non-research institution, they claimed I would receive more attention from professors whose only responsibility was teaching," he says. "But I can't imagine a setting where I'd receive more personalized learning than USU. I would have missed so much if I hadn't ventured outside the classroom and into the lab."

Hands-on research offers lessons that can't be learned from a textbook, says Burgon. "Dr. York and Dr. Park have taught me how to approach problems, design experiments and the tools to pursue answers," he says. "It's a privilege, for sure."