Candidate: Tammy L. Root, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow working at the Eating Disorders Program in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) with previous training and research interests in the comorbidity of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and eating disorders, as well as advanced methodological techniques. Career Goals: To become an independently funded scientist and to improve understanding of the comorbidity of genetic and environmental causes of AUDs and eating disorders. Career Development: Dr. Root plans to enhance her skills and understanding of (1) AUDs and eating disorders phenotypes, (2) theory and approaches for analyzing twin data, (3) molecular genetic theory and methods used to generate genotype data including genome wide association analyses, and (4) ethical conduct of genetic research in human populations. Research Project: The goal of the proposed research plan is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the relation between AUDs and subtypes and symptoms of eating disorders using principles and techniques of behavioral and molecular genetics. Both the research and the associated training plan emphasize an interdisciplinary approach integrating psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, and genetics, to explore fully the manner in which genes and environment contribute to liability to each disorder independently as well as comorbidly. This research will fill an important gap in current knowledge by providing formative work necessary for more advanced and methodologically sophisticated research needed to address the complex interplay of genes and environment on comorbid conditions. The proposed series of investigations will bridge the gap between epidemiology and genetic epidemiology using twin data to address risk for the individual occurrence of AUDs and eating disorders simultaneously and extend our knowledge of the processes that underlie the observed comorbidity between these classes of disorders.
The aims progress from epidemiology through classification, univariate twin analyses, bivariate twin analyses, and more complicated item-factor models reflecting increasingly refined approaches to explicating the nature of the relation between AUDs and eating disorders. Results from the proposed research will then inform cross-disorder molecular genetic studies - the content for an R01 research grant following completion of the K01. Environment: The proposed project will take place in the Departments of Psychiatry and Genetics at UNC-CH and at Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Mentorship: A successful team of investigators will assist Dr. Root with the proposed research and training, including two co-mentors, Drs. Cynthia Bulik (UNC-CH) and Michael Neale (VCU), as well as several collaborators and consultants - Drs. Andrea Hussong, Karen Mohlke, Leslie Lange, Laura Thornton, and Paul Lichtenstein.
Both the research and the associated training plan emphasize an interdisciplinary approach integrating psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, and genetics, to explore fully the manner in which genes and environment contribute to liability to each disorder independently as well as comorbidly. Identification of patterns that are associated with comorbid AUDs and eating disorders will allow researchers and clinicians to recognize individuals who may be at risk and allow researchers to more effectively develop treatment interventions, which is particularly important given that this comorbidity is associated with increased health risks and complications. This research will fill an important gap in current knowledge by providing formative work necessary for more advanced and methodologically sophisticated research needed to address the complex interplay of genes and environment on comorbid conditions.
