Van Andel Institute’s Dr. Nick Burton named as a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences
August 12, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Aug. 12, 2025) — The Pew Charitable Trusts has named Van Andel Institute’s Nick Burton, Ph.D., as a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences.
This four-year award supports exceptional early-career scientists who seek answers to pressing questions about health and disease. Burton is one of only 22 researchers included in the 2025 class.
“For 40 years, Pew has supported young, talented researchers as they take creative approaches to solving big scientific questions,” Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement, said in a statement. “This new class continues that legacy, and we look forward to seeing where their discoveries lead.”
Burton studies how our environment, especially exposure to stress and microbes, can influence our health and the health of our children — even before birth. He also is searching for new Type 2 diabetes treatments by analyzing byproducts produced by soil bacteria. This approach has extensive precedent: Many medications, from antibiotics to those that prevent organ transplant rejection, have been identified and derived from microbes.
Learn more about Dr. Burton’s work ➔
“I’m grateful to The Pew Charitable Trusts for the opportunity to be part of such an excellent community of scientists,” Burton said. “Pew Scholars pursue bold, innovative ideas to improve health, and I’m thrilled to join them.”
This year’s class of Pew Scholars joins a community of more than 1,000 scientists who have received Pew awards since 1985. Awardees were selected from a competitive pool of 209 nominations.
Burton is an assistant professor in VAI’s Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming. He joined the Institute in 2021 after completing a Next Generation Fellowship at the Centre for Trophoblast Research at University of Cambridge. He earned his undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.