Webinars

This webinar will provide an overview of Molecular Genetic Methods in Eating Disorder research. Dr. Yilmaz will discuss steps to implement methods such as genome-wide association studies, polygenic risk scores, and genetic correlation. In addition, she will explore methodological considerations in this research such as imputation, population stratification, and power. She will identify ways in which these methods can further eating disorder research and discuss current limitations in our understanding of genetic risk for eating disorders.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Yilmaz is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Genetics at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. As a neurogeneticist and NIMH K01 award recipient, Dr. Yilmaz’s research focuses on the genetics of eating disorders, cross-disorder examination of the genetic and environmental risk for anorexia nervosa and obsessive-compulsive disorder, mitochondrial variation in eating disorders, and genetics of body weight regulation. She is one of the lead analysts of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) Eating Disorders Working Group and a member of professional organizations such as the Academy for Eating Disorders, International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, and American Society of Human Genetics

This webinar will focus on the topic of weight bias, providing an overview of definitions, real-world examples, and empirical support for its negative impact on health. In particular, the adverse effects of internalizing weight bias will be discussed, including implications for eating disorders. The webinar will end with an overview of potential interventions for preventing and reducing weight bias and its internalization.

Rebecca L. Pearl, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Pearl received her BA from Duke University and her PhD in clinical psychology from Yale University. Dr. Pearl’s research focuses on weight bias and its associated health outcomes in individuals with obesity. She also investigates strategies for reducing weight bias and its internalization. Her work is currently supported by a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH.