Continuing support is requested for the University of North Carolina Research Training Program in Eating Disorders. This program involves 23 senior and 12 junior research mentors, 3 biostatisticians, 4 foreign affiliates, and 8 clinical advisors. Mentors span the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Social Work, Nursing, Journalism and Mass Communications, and the College of Arts and Sciences. Trainees are guided by a mentorship team (two research faculty and a clinical advisor) to achieve seven core aims: 1) to achieve a high level of research expertise in a specialist area while becoming well-versed in the broader context of eating disorders;2) to achieve excellence in research design, methodology, and biostatistics;3) to be sensitive to and aware of ethical issues related to human participants and the ethical conduct of science;4) to be well-versed in animal welfare issues;5) to be aware of key clinical issues with eating disorders patients;6) to complete a research project commensurate with prior training under the supervision of training faculty;and, 7) to follow an individualized training path that builds necessary skills necessary to achieve the status of an independent investigator efficiently. Our approach encourages collaborative science across disciplines applying state-of-the-science approaches and technologies. With this renewal, we incorporate expertise of new faculty and developments in the field, and broaden our interdisciplinary focus. We will recruit scientist-practitioners and scientists from diverse fields who may or may not identify as eating disorders researchers, but whose research could critically inform the eating disorders field. In addition to trainees with pre-existing eating disorders interests, we will recruit MDs, PhDs, and MD/PhDs with graduate training or interest in neuroscience, animal behavior, behavioral and molecular genetics, statistical genetics, clinical psychology, health disparities and other disciplines to bring their expertise and methodologies to bear on eating disorders. Attracting the brightest trainees from relevant neighboring disciplines will invigorate eating disorders science and underscore the far-reaching implications of eating disorders research to our understanding of appetite, weight, and mood regulation. We will recruit three qualified applicants per year and provide rigorous advanced training maintaining our interdisciplinary bench to society approach. We remain extremely well-poised to attract excellent candidates including female and minority trainees. A systematic series of bidirectional internal and external program evaluations with clear benchmarks facilitates optimization of the program, with the ultimate goal of nurturing highly trained, methodologically rigorous, clinically competent or clinically informed researchers. Our trainees will continue their track record of successful proposals to NIH and other funding bodies to become established independent investigators and elevate eating disorders to the next level of scientific sophistication.

Public Health Relevance

This application is aimed at preparing an outstanding interdisciplinary cohort of researchers for independent careers in the investigation and treatment of eating disorders. This need is based on the number of individuals affected by eating disorders, the considerable costs to society associated with their care, the limited effectiveness of available treatment.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
2T32MH076694-06
Application #
8266850
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZMH1-ERB-I (01))
Program Officer
Chavez, Mark
Project Start
2006-07-01
Project End
2017-06-30
Budget Start
2012-07-01
Budget End
2013-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$133,327
Indirect Cost
$12,169
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
608195277
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
Levinson, Cheri A; Zerwas, Stephanie C; Brosof, Leigh C et al. (2018) Associations between dimensions of anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder: An examination of personality and psychological factors in patients with anorexia nervosa. Eur Eat Disord Rev :
Schaumberg, Katherine; Jangmo, Andreas; Thornton, Laura M et al. (2018) Patterns of diagnostic transition in eating disorders: a longitudinal population study in Sweden. Psychol Med :1-9
Rackers, Hannah S; Thomas, Stephanie; Williamson, Kelsey et al. (2018) Emerging literature in the Microbiota-Brain Axis and Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology 95:86-96
Mazzone, C M; Pati, D; Michaelides, M et al. (2018) Acute engagement of Gq-mediated signaling in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis induces anxiety-like behavior. Mol Psychiatry 23:143-153
Brainstorm Consortium (see original citation for additional authors) (2018) Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain. Science 360:
Yilmaz, Zeynep; Halvorsen, Matthew; Bryois, Julien et al. (2018) Examination of the shared genetic basis of anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mol Psychiatry :
Gonçalves, Vanessa F; Giamberardino, Stephanie N; Crowley, James J et al. (2018) Examining the role of common and rare mitochondrial variants in schizophrenia. PLoS One 13:e0191153
Zerwas, Stephanie C; Watson, Hunna J; Hofmeier, Sara M et al. (2017) CBT4BN: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Chat and Face-to-Face Group Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa. Psychother Psychosom 86:47-53
Baker, Jessica H; Schaumberg, Katherine; Munn-Chernoff, Melissa A (2017) Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa. Curr Psychiatry Rep 19:84
Duncan, Laramie; Yilmaz, Zeynep; Gaspar, Helena et al. (2017) Significant Locus and Metabolic Genetic Correlations Revealed in Genome-Wide Association Study of Anorexia Nervosa. Am J Psychiatry 174:850-858

Showing the most recent 10 out of 91 publications