Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program
2 Longfellow Place, Suite 200
Boston,
MA
02114
Email: cstern3@mgh.harvard.edu
In 1997, the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program (EDCRP) established a summer fellowship program to stimulate interest in eating disorders research and train young investigators in the field. The EDCRP provides annual funding for summer research fellowships with the support of Matina S. Horner, PhD, and the Lawrence J. and Anne Rubenstein Charitable Foundation. Matina S. Horner, PhD has sponsored over 50 undergraduate and graduate students. In 2013, we were fortunate to receive an award from the Rubenstein Foundation in support of our summer research fellowships. During their eight weeks at the EDCRP, fellows receive supervision and mentoring as they conduct independent research projects, participate in our research activities and meet weekly with our staff for discussion sessions on research methodologies in the field of eating disorders.
The Summer Research Fellowship Program is designed to mentor young investigators in the eating disorder field. Fellows accepted into the program complete an eight-week independent research project in residence at the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program (EDCRP) from June 9 to August 1, 2025.
During that time, fellows will:
Fellowships will be awarded to outstanding applicants who submit a proposal that describes an original research project.
Please note, applicants must be enrolled in a degree-granting program (e.g., master's or PhD program) during the summer of the fellowship. Individuals who will be between undergraduate and graduate education or who have graduated from their terminal degree program are not eligible.
Applicants should design a research proposal so that the project can be completed within the eight-week fellowship period. Successful applications will have relevance to the research interests of the EDCRP, including eating disorder classification, longitudinal outcome, neuroendocrine abnormalities, prevention efforts, and structural and functional brain imaging. We especially welcome applications with a focus on eating disorder prevention, implementation and dissemination of evidence-based treatments, or public education.
Projects that involve writing a literature review, analyzing previously collected data or writing up a research report from data already analyzed are the most feasible to complete during the fellowship. Previous awardees have also worked on masters' theses or dissertations.
If you have questions, please contact Lily Palmer at 617-724-0799 or lpalmer6@mgh.harvard.edu
Please note that your fellowship application will require the following materials:
Application submission period begins: September 9, 2024
Deadline for applications: December 1, 2024
Mentors for the Summer Research Fellowship include:
Student projects have focused on a range of topics from prevention, to cross-cultural perspectives, to personality variables and biological factors. Many fellows stay in touch with us as they continue their independent research projects after their fellowships have ended, typically resulting in peer-reviewed articles or theses. Several fellows have gone on to become independent investigators in the eating disorder field.
Po-Han Kung, University of Melbourne
Research Project: Hippocampal resting-state effective connectivity in restrictive eating disorders and its association with ghrelin
Kathryn Pasquariello, Suffolk University
Research Project: Reading Between the Beeps: Modeling Temporal Dynamics in Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder via Network Analysis
Julia Engelkamp, Konstanz University
Research Project: Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Copeland Winten, Queensland University of Technology
Research Project: Dietetic Led Treatment for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Susana C. Garcia, University at Albany, SUNY
Research Project: Preliminary Development and Validation of the Barriers to Eating Disorder Treatment Scale
Vittoria Trolio, McGill University
Research Project: Cholecystokinin and ghrelin are associated with different domains of symptom severity in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: A cross-sectional and longitudinal investigation
Taylor Rezeppa, Ohio University
Research Project: Examining Serum Leptin in Youth and Young Adults with ARFID Across the Weight Spectrum
Yaen Chen, Northeastern University
Research Project: Understanding cortical thickness and surface area differences among adolescent females with low-weight avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
Sarah Dolan, Hofstra University
Research Project: Anhedonia in eating disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Kaitlin Rozzell, University of Hawaii
Research Project: A comparison of ghrelin and PYY between individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and healthy controls
Traci Carson, University of Michigan
Research Project: Identifying Latent Classes of Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome Outcomes & Predictors of Class Membership in a Sample of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division One Female Cross Country Runners
Christopher Mancuso, University of Wyoming
Research Project: Examining associations between oxytocin and psychopathology in young women with low-weight eating disorders
Mitchell Cunningham, University of Sydney
Research Projects: Explored associations between female muscularity concerns and other psychological variables. In a second project, analyzed data from Gay Bodies Worldwide, a multi-country prospective study of physical appearance phenomena – including eating disorders – among sexual minority men.
Evelyna Kambanis, University of Wyoming
Research Project: Examined the prevalence and correlates of current and lifetime psychiatric comorbidities and suicidality among a community-based sample of children and adolescents with full and sub-threshold avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).
Alexandra Stanford, Wellesley College
Research Project: Used fMRI data to analyze total grey and white matter volumes in adolescents with low weight eating disorders.
Audrey Landheim, Brigham Young University
Research Project: Developed a mobile app (Fudo) that could be used in the secondary prevention of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, specifically targeting picky eating.
Helen Burton Murray, Drexel University
Research Project: Partnered with the gastroenterology clinic to document the prevalence of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in patients presenting to gastroenterology motility specialists.
Marita Cooper, MPsych, Australian National University
Research Project: Conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the diagnostic validity of muscle dysmorphia
Alice Lowy, MA, Northeastern University
Research Project: Focused on synthesizing the literature on the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and eating pathology among black and white women
Russell DuBois, MS, Northeastern University
Research project: Using network analysis to better understand the causal relationships among eating disorder symptoms
Setareh O’Brien, BA, Wesleyan University
Research project: Explored the relationship between adoption status and disordered eating symptoms
Yongjoo Kim, MPH, PhD, KMD, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
Research project: Investigated the prevalence of disordered weight control behaviors (DWCB) among Korean adolescents, as well as risk and protective factors at the individual, family, and school levels.
Brittany Bohrer, University of Kansas
Research project: examined differences in impairment between individuals with purging-type bulimia nervosa, non-purging bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder
Lauren Forrest, Miami University of Ohio
Research project: examined whether eating disorder symptoms predicted suicidal desire among eating disorder patients
Rebecca DeSanti, Albany Medical College
Research project: examined neurocognitive function in females with anorexia nervosa
Lisa Anderson, University at Albany (SUNY)
Research project: examined the relative contributions of fear and disgust to eating disorder symptomatology
Cindy Schmelkin, Harvard Medical School
Research project: examined the effects of oxytocin dysregulation and weight recovery on social cognition in women with anorexia nervosa
Suzanne Straebler, The University of Oxford (UK)
Research project: developed and evaluated scalable methods for improving the implementation of evidenced based treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy, for eating disorders
Deirdre Buckley, Harvard University
Research Project: conducted a literature review of determinants of bone mineral density in women with anorexia nervosa
Tiffany Graves, Boston University
Research project: conducted a meta-analytic review of the effect of therapeutic alliance on treatment outcome in eating disorders
Mun Yee Kwan, North Dakota State University
Research project: examined gender difference in the relationship between coping responses and bulimic symptoms
Melissa Stone, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology
Research Project: examined the effect of therapist self-disclosure of personal recovery from an eating disorder on anticipated therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome
Charlotte Delaney, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Research Project: explored the new DSM-5 classification of pica and rumination disorder, as well as their community prevalence and comorbidity with other eating disorders. (Note, private funding through the Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
Nouha Georges, Boston University
Research Project: Wrote a literature review of research in alexithymia (difficulty recognizing feelings) in women with anorexia nervosa
Rebecca Patterson, Muhlenberg College
Research Project: Conducted analyses to explore non-fat phobic anorexia nervosa
Jessica Yu, Rutgers University
Research Project: Examined the impact of daily stress on binge eating and purging in individuals with bulimia nervosa
Doris Berman, Wellesley College
Research Projects: Literature review of mortality in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Also, working in the Neuroendocrine Unit at Mass General on a study of physiologic testosterone in anorexia nervosa (low-dose testosterone to bring hormone to normal levels)
Bernice Raveche, Harvard School of Public Health
Research Project: Exploring the association between weight-based discrimination and disordered eating outcomes among ethnically diverse youth
Esmeralda Romero-Lorenzo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research Projects: Learning about and summarizing psychosocial development in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders not otherwise specified. Also, working with the Mass General Neuroendocrine Unit on a study of appetite regulating and stress hormones in the genetics of anorexia nervosa
Rebecca Shingleton, Boston University
Research Project: Working on a data-set that involves investigating real-time data (collected using ecological momentary assessment) in patients with self-injurious behavior, including binge/purge thoughts and behaviors
Dan Donoho, Stony Brook University School of Medicine
Research Project: In conjunction with the Mass General Neuroendocrine Unit, working on a study of the neurobiology of appetite regulation in anorexia nervosa
Kara Gaughen, Boston University
Research Project: Reviewing the literature on eating disorders in male athletes, with a focus on manifestation of symptoms and issues surrounding identification and diagnosis at the collegiate level
Lauren Richards, Boston University
Research Project: Developing a new tool for the assessment of binge eating
Jennifer Slane, Michigan State University
Research Project: Working on her dissertation, which examines genetic and environmental influences on associations between bulimia nervosa and alcohol use disorders
Margo Genderson, Boston University
Research Project: Reviewing the literature on eating disorders and their associated psychiatric conditions, focusing on shared genetic and environmental influences
Lauren Kronenfeld, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research Project: Studying measures of body image assessment across racial and ethnic groups through a literature review
Jason Lavender, University at Albany, SUNY
Research Project: Examining how patterns of binge eating and purging progress over time in women with anorexia and bulimia
Zack Lipsman, Harvard University Extension School
Research Project: In conjunction with the MGH Neuroendocrine Unit, exploring whether the changes in stress and appetite regulating hormones exhibited in anorexia nervosa are associated with specific genes
Michele Crisafulli, Boston University
Research Project: Examining the effects that different messages have on the public's perceptions of individuals with anorexia nervosa
Kyle De Young, University at Albany, State University of New York
Research Project: Investigating at what level behavioral symptoms may be present during periods of remission but not be predictive of future relapse
Jacob McGrane, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research Project: Working with the MGH Neuroendocrine Department on studies involving therapeutic strategies for reducing bone loss in anorexia nervosa
Stacey DiPalma, Brown University School of Medicine
Research Project: Determining the current place of eating disorders in the formal education of medical students
Kamryn Eddy, Boston University
Research Project: Nosology, or diagnostic classification of eating disorders
Loren Gianini, University of New Mexico
Research Project: Individual, familial and social factors that lead an individual to internalize the thin ideal
Sarah Merhar, Mount Holyoke College
Research Project: Internship at Neuroendocrinology Clinical Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital
Jolie Weingeroff, Boston University
Research Project: Strategies that individuals with eating disorders use to manage distress
Lareina La Flair, Medical Education Department, Harvard Medical School
Research Project: Relationship between sexual assault and eating disorders in Asian women
Naomi Ray-Schoenfeld, Wesleyan University
Research Project: Internship at Neuroendocrinology Clinical Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital
Dana Satir, Boston University
Research Project: Clinicians' reactions to working with adolescents with eating disorders
Maria Cristina Cruza-Guet, Lehigh University
Research Project: An examination of the National Eating Disorders Screening Program
Natalie Freed, University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Research Projects: Neuroendocrine modulation of metabolic effects in overweight adolescents; Effects of anorexia nervosa on peak bone mass; Growth hormone suppression in healthy children following administration of an oral glucose load
Monica Hsiung Wojcik, Princeton University
Research Project: Abnormalities of the growth hormone and IGF-I Axis in anorexia nervosa
Maria-Christina Stewart, University of Hawaii
Research Project: Public perceptions of women with anorexia nervosa
Maria Frisch, University of Minnesota
Research Projects: Descriptive study of residential eating disorder treatment programs and study on arts-based therapies and eating disorders
Cori Kraus, Brandeis University
Research Project: Alcohol and drug use disorders in women with eating disorders
Rama Mulukutla, Meharry Medical College
Research Project: Androgen deficiency and osteopenia in anorexia nervosa
Alison Hwong, Brown University
Research Project: Effects of testosterone and actonel on bone density and anorexia nervosa
Emily Delf, Boston University
Research Project: Cognitive function in women with anorexia nervosa
Research Project: A prospective study of personality and disordered eating in an ethnically diverse sample of college women
Lisa Rubin, Arizona State University
Research Project: Against the grain: Exploring African American and Latina women's strategies for resisting and accommodating mainstream beauty ideals
Dara Greenwood, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Research Project: The role of attachment style in the media-eating disorders equation
Eileen P. Anderson, EdM, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Research Project: Culture, body image, and eating disorders in Belize
Valerie E. Charat, Harvard University
Research Project: The role of compulsive exercise and restrictive eating in women with eating disorders
Mary Beth Gordon, Harvard Medical School
Research Project: The effects of testosterone on functional brain abnormalities in women with anorexia nervosa
Abby Slate, Mount Holyoke College
Research Project: Eating and dieting behaviors among college women
Gina Escamilla, Harvard School of Public Health
Research Project: Ethnicity and adolescent girls' response to print media: Implications for self and body Image
Abigail Judge, Brandeis University
Research Project: Treatment for anorexia nervosa in an era of managed care
S. Bryn Austin, DSc, Harvard School of Public Health
Research Project: A prospective study of smoking and dieting in early adolescents
Susan Rushing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Research Project: Biological substrates that contribute to childhood anorexia nervosa Onset
Cara James, Harvard University
Research Project: Body image and disordered eating among African-American women
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