April 25, 2002
Alaska researcher sheds light on obesity
Dr. Bert Boyer, assistant professor of molecular biology at the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, will present “Obesity in Alaska: From Hibernating Ground Squirrels to Genetics in Eskimos” at the Science in Medicine lecture, noon, Thursday, May 2, in D-209 Turner Auditorium, Health Sciences Center. This lecture is an annual event featuring a researcher from one of the affiliated universities that teach first-year medical studeents in the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) regional medical education program.
Boyer examines the genetic and environmental risk factors in the development of obesity. He focuses on the interactions between genetic risk factors, diet, and behavior (lifestyles) in order to determine the conditions within a family or community that contribute to being overweight. Ultimately this research may be used to develop health intervention programs designed to keep individuals at a healthy weight and reduce their risk of heart disease, diabetes and other related diseases.
He earned a Ph.D. degree from Louisiana State University Medical School, and then did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. In 1992 he accepted a faculty position in the Department of Biology and the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
