Upcoming Webinars

Description:

This webinar presents findings from a large-scale multinational study of adolescent girls living in Australia, China, India, and Iran. It will highlight cross-cultural nuances that facilitate our understanding of risk factors of appearance and eating concerns among underrepresented populations in eating disorder research. Additionally, it will shed light on often overlooked cultural distinctions within diverse Asian countries. The webinar will outline pathways for future research directions and interventions, with the goal of fostering a more inclusive understanding of body image and eating disorders, cross-culturally

• Vani Kakar, PhD. 
  Dr. Vani Kakar (she/her) is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Psychology at San Francisco State University. She earned her PhD in Psychology from Macquarie University, Australia. Her research encompasses two primary areas: body image and disordered eating, as well as acculturation and minority experiences. Her work examines the role of sociocultural influences on adolescent well-being, with a specific focus on individuals from diverse backgrounds and those living in low- to middle-income countries. At present, she is investigating how experiences of discrimination including those relating to social class, gender, and immigration, relate to adolescents' engagement in risky health behaviors such as tobacco use. 

• Iman McPherson
  Iman graduated from Tufts University in 2022, where she studied Psychology, Philosophy, and Child Study and Human Development. She developed her research interest in eating disorders in underrepresented populations as an undergraduate, and received an internal grant to complete a research review of binge-eating disorder among Black American women. Since graduating, Iman has been working at Massachusetts General Hospital as the lead Clinical Research Coordinator on an R01 investigating the neurobiology of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). She also received an NIH Diversity Supplement to undertake a substudy on the neurocognitive profile of ARFID under the senior mentorship of Jennifer Thomas, PhD. Iman has received an Early-Career Travel Scholarship from the AED, and serves as Co-Chair of the Black and Brown Professionals in Eating Disorders Special Interest Group. Iman will begin her doctoral training in clinical psychology this fall, with a special interest in eating disorders, mental health disparities, and self-destructive behaviors among diverse and marginalized populations.