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About the Webinar
This live webinar will show case and discuss eating disorder research in several Asian countries to raise public awareness of the exciting work being carried out in a part of the world that may not get as much attention as work from Northern America, Europe, or Australia/New Zealand due to language barriers or other factors impeding broad dissemination of scientific information. Presenters will describe work on historical trends in symptom expression of eating disorders; epidemiology; health care provision and utilization; and interventions (prevention and treatment). Webinar attendees are encouraged to submit questions to the panel during the broadcast.
Speakers & Topics
Ruth S. Weissman Welcoming remarks
Jennifer J. Thomas Introduction to the special issue
Sook Ning Chua (Singapore) Prevalence of eating disorders in Singapore
Youl-Ri Kim (Korea) You, me, and us: A school-based prevention program in Korea
Mei-Chih Meg Tseng (Taiwan) Healthcare use and cost of adults with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in Taiwan
Jue Chen (China) The introduction of treatment and the cultural adaptability of Western psychotherapies for eating disorders in China
Elaine Chew (Singapore) Implementing family-based treatment in Singapore
Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi (Japan) Psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire and psychopathology in Japanese patients with eating disorders
About the Speakers
Jue Chen, MD, PhD, is the director of Eating Disorder Center and director of Department of Clinical Psychology at Shanghai Mental Health Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the pathomechanism and treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. She is currently principal investigator on several studies investigating the neurobiology and treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, funded by Chinese National Science, Shanghai Science and Technology Commission and Shanghai Municipal Health Commission foundations. She is the chief editor of the book of Eating Disorders and is one of the main editors of Chines Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Eating Disorders. She is the author or co-author of more than 80 scientific publications. She is the leader of the Eating Disorders Academic Group of the Psychosomatic Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. She is also editorial board member of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, European Eating Disorders Review, Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity and Journal of Eating Disorders.
Elaine Chew, PhD, has been working as a specialist in pediatric medicine and adolescent health since 2011. She is currently Senior Consultant in Adolescent Medicine at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), Singapore and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Duke-National University of Singapore. Her research interest is in adolescents with eating disorders and has published peer review articles on Asian adolescents with restrictive eating disorder and the adaptation of the KKH eating disorder service to COVID-19. She is currently working to develop a support group for caregivers of adolescents with eating disorders in partnership with a community mental health support group. Her other research interest is in family-based interventions for pediatric obesity. She has obtained several research grants to conduct health services research on family-based interventions and use of mobile applications in children and adolescents with obesity and had published her research findings in journals. She is the primary investigator on a collaborative project to co-develop a community-based intervention for childhood obesity with Duke University and community stakeholders in Singapore. She is interested in the upstream prevention of both eating disorders and obesity.
Youl-Ri Kim, MD, PhD is the director of Department of Psychiatry, Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University, and the director of the Institute of Eating Disorders and Mental Health, Inje University. Dr. Kim’s research focuses on clinical aspects and prevention of eating disorders, and personality disorder. She is the author or co-author of about 50 SCI papers and many local papers, and coauthors of several textbooks. She also serves as secretary for the section for personality disorder in WPA and editorial board members of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, European Eating Disorders Review, and Psychiatry Investigation.
Sook Ning Chua is a clinical psychologist and the founder of Relate Malaysia. She is currently a senior research fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She graduated from McGill University, Canada with a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Her research interest includes developing accessible mental health prevention and intervention programs and examining positive interpersonal supportive styles. As a clinical psychologist, international researcher and educator, Dr Chua has an extensive body of research publications and shared her expertise across a wide range of subjects at conferences worldwide, from Singapore to the Netherlands and Canada. Her research interests include motivation, self-regulation, and mental health interventions to name just a few of her areas of focus. As a renowned mental health advocate, Dr. Chua has been a sought-after speaker over the past 10 years, appearing on radio and in print media, as well as delivering three TEDx Talks since 2017. A clinician who practises in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, Dr. Chua is recognised as a driven and determined thought leader in Psychology throughout Southeast Asia, motivated by a desire to raise the standard of mental health on an individual, organisational, and societal level.
Jennifer Thomas, PhD, is the Co-director of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Thomas’s research focuses on avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and other atypical eating disorders, as described in her books Almost Anorexic: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Relationship with Food a Problem?; Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: Children, Adolescents, and Adults; and The Picky Eater’s Recovery Book: Overcoming Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. She is currently principal investigator on several studies investigating the neurobiology and treatment of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health and private foundations. She is the author or co-author of more than 140 scientific publications. She also serves as Secretary for the Academy for Eating Disorders and Associate Editor for the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Mei-Chih Meg Tseng, PhD, is the director of Department of Psychiatry at Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan, and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Medical College, National Taiwan University. She has been the principal investigator on several studies investigating epidemiology and help seeking of eating disorders funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Dr. Tseng paid special interests on the relationship between eating disorders and bipolar disorders in her clinical practice. She is the author or co-author of more than 75 scientific publications.
Ruth Striegel Weissman, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, Emerita, at Wesleyan University. Her research focuses on reducing the burden of suffering associated with eating and weight problems. Dr. Weissman’s studies have included work on defining and classifying eating disorders, identifying risk factors for the development of eating and weight disorders, treatment effectiveness, and health services utilization and costs related to obesity, binge eating, and eating disorders. Her research has been generously funded by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Disease (NIDDK), by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and by the American Diabetes Association. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with several awards, including the AED’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Weissman is a founding member and former president of the Academy for Eating Disorder. She also served as president of the Eating Disorders Research Society. Dr. Weissman is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Kazuhiro Yoshiuchi, MD, PhD, is the Chair of Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at The University of Tokyo Hospital, and the Associate Professor in the Department of Stress Sciences and Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine at The University of Tokyo. Dr. Yoshiuchi’s research focuses on eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorders. He is currently a principal investigator on several studies investigating treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and private foundations. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 scientific publications. He serves as a member of Partnership, Chapter & Affiliate Committee (PCAC) and 2021 Annual Conference Program Committee of Academy for Eating Disorders. He also serves as a board of directors for Japan Society for Eating Disorders, as one of the editors-in-chief for BioPsychoSocial Medicine, and as an editorial board for Psychosomatic Medicine.