Upcoming Webinars


Upcoming Webinars
                                                                                                       

•Applications of the gut microbiota and the dietary genome to anorexia nervosa

Date/Time:
February 25, 2025, 12:00-1:00 pm ET

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Description:

Our understanding of the intestinal microbiota—the complex ecosystem of microorganisms in the GI tract—continues to evolve as sequencing technology advances and research progresses. This webinar will provide a brief introduction of the intestinal microbiota, describe the current body of evidence supporting a role of the intestinal microbiota in anorexia nervosa, and highlight key areas for intervention potential. Additionally, the webinar will introduce a novel, noninvasive biomarker of dietary intake. To bridge clinical research and practice, we aim to have an open discussion about this new sequencing technique and obtain feedback from clinicians about the applications of this tool in eating disorder monitoring, treatment, and research.



Speaker

  • Kylie Reed, PhD 
    Kylie Reed received her PhD in Nutrition from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in May. During her time there, she followed the nutritional biochemistry track, completed a minor in epidemiology, and received a certificate in translational medicine. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow through the Center of Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, a joint center between UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University and NC State University. Kylie’s research focuses on the gut microbiome in eating disorders, and she has a particular interest in how we can use microbiota-driven dietary interventions to improve treatment outcomes and prevent relapse.

Moderator

  • Kerri Heckert, RD
    Kerri is an anti-diet Registered Dietitian, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-Approved Consultant and Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist. She is the Co-Founder and Director of Nutrition at Main Line Center for Eating Disorders, a multidisciplinary outpatient practice that provides weight-inclusive, anti-diet, evidence-based eating disorder treatment for children, adolescents and young adults with eating disorders. Her prior clinical experience included more than 10 years at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program. 


•Advancing the global surveillance of eating disorders: Insights from epidemiology and public health

Date/Time:
February 26, 2025, 10:00-11:00 am ET

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Description:

This webinar will provide an overview of recent advancements in eating disorder surveillance, including developments in measures and survey systems from a diversity of countries. 



Speakers

  • Amanda Raffoul, PhD 
    Dr. Amanda Raffoul is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her research aims to investigate and promote the uptake of evidence-based policies to prevent eating disorders and promote healthy dietary patterns among populations.

  • Emilio Compte, PhD
    Dr. Emilio Juan Compte is an Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Santiago, Chile) and Research Coordinator at Comenzar de Nuevo (Monterrey, Mexico). His research interests include the epidemiology of eating disorders among boys and men and in Latin America.

  • Richard Lynn, PhD 
    Dr. Richard Lynn is a Senior Research Fellow at University College London’s Institute of Child Health who studies eating disorders and depression among children. He previously held the position of Scientific Coordinator of the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit and has led foundational studies on eating disorder surveillance in the UK.

  • Sufang Peng, PhD
    Dr. Peng is a researcher at the Eating Disorder Center at Shanghai Mental Health Center. Her recent work has focused on understanding the epidemiology of eating disorders in East Asian countries.

Moderator

  • Ariel Beccia, PhD
    Dr. Ariel Beccia is a Research Scientist working with the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) based at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital. Her research uses large population datasets and advanced epidemiological methods to examine the social and structural determinants of eating disorder inequities, with a particular focus on inequities affecting LGBTQ+ populations.


•Weight Inclusive Conversations for Pediatric Providers

Date/Time:
February 27, 2025, noon-1pm ET

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Description:

"Weight Inclusive Conversations for Pediatric Providers" will emphasize a compassionate, evidence-based approach to discussing weight and health with children and families. Rooted in weight inclusive principles, the presentation challenges weight-centric models of healthcare and promotes a shift toward holistic well-being. Pediatric providers will be provided tools and strategies to focus on behaviors and overall health rather than weight-centric measures. This presentation will highlight the impact of weight stigma and the harm that diet culture causes on mental and physical health, particularly in children.  Providers will learn how to employ strategies to foster a supportive environment and encouraging sustainable habits like joyful movement, balanced nutrition, and adequate sleep to emphasize self-esteem, body respect, and family-centered care, creating space for health-promoting behaviors without reinforcing weight bias. This approach aims to build trust, prevent disordered eating, and support long-term health outcomes for all children.



Speaker

  • Elizabeth Wassenaar, MS MD, DFAPA, CEDS-S

    Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar is the Regional Medical Director for the Mountain and West regions at Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center. Dr. Wassenaar grew up in central Iowa, where her early fascination with the intricacies of human behavior led her to pursue a graduate degree in Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania. After earning her master’s, she transitioned to medical school at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Dr. Wassenaar completed her residency in a unique triple board program, encompassing Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her commitment to deepening her expertise in psychotherapy has included extensive training in psychodynamic approaches and psychedelic-assisted therapy.
     
    Before joining her current role, Dr. Wassenaar served as medical director at a residential treatment facility in Cincinnati, where she integrated diagnostic evaluations with comprehensive psychiatric care. She is board certified in Obesity Medicine and is a certified Eating Disorder Specialist Supervisor, highlighting her dedication to providing informed and compassionate care to those she serves.

Moderator

  • Allison Chase, PhD, CEDS-S

    Dr. Allison K. Chase is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years of experience specializing in child and adolescent mental health, eating disorders, and Family-Based Treatment (FBT). She is recognized for her advanced expertise in Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) and her commitment to empowering parents and caregivers in the healing process. Dr. Chase earned her PhD from The University of Texas at Austin, followed by a clinical residency at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois, in the Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics.
     
    Her clinical work spans all levels of care, from outpatient to inpatient treatment. She began her career as the founder and principal of AK Chase and Associates, a thriving group practice in Austin, Texas. Since 2014, she has held key leadership roles, including Executive Director and Senior Clinical Advisor at Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center. Currently, she serves as the Clinical Project Lead for the innovative Recovery Record Family App at Bright Therapeutics, where she has been instrumental in developing this cutting-edge tool that supports families and clinicians in the treatment of eating disorders.
     
    Dr. Chase is also passionate about the professional development of clinicians, offering workshops, supervision, and continuing education across the U.S. She is an Adjunct Faculty Member at The University of Texas at Austin and actively involved in international professional associations, underscoring her commitment to advancing the field of mental health.




•Suicidal thoughts and behaviors in eating disorders

Date/Time:
March 3, 2025, 12:00-1:00 pm ET

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Description:

Research shows that suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are elevated among individuals with eating disorders, with suicide being a leading cause of death in this population. This webinar will discuss current research on the factors associated with eating disorders and STBs, and the mechanisms explaining the substantial risk of STBs in individuals with eating disorders. 



Speaker

  • Mun Yee Kwan, PhD
    Mun Yee Kwan is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Hofstra University. Her research broadly focuses on the interpersonal and sociocultural risk factors of eating disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Her research also addresses mental health disparities among minoritized populations. 

Moderator

  • Kyra Citron, BA, Hofstra University



•Early Intervention as a Path Toward Equity in Adolescent Eating Disorder Care

Date/Time:
March 20, 2025, 9:00-10:00am ET

This webinar is hosted by the Early Intervention SIG and is available to all AED members. Please log in to register.

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Description:

Inequities create limited access to eating disorder identification, diagnosis, and treatment for youth of color, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, and socioeconomically disadvantaged youth. Thus, these populations suffer poorer outcomes and prognoses than their peers with more privileged identities. Early intervention is known to improve prognosis in many mental health conditions, including eating disorders, and could significantly improve remission rates for many youth if adopted widely. Many features of early intervention programs, such as low costs, self-guided approaches, and accessibility, make them ideal to improve both outcomes and equity in eating disorder care. In this webinar, we will discuss the ways in which early intervention initiatives can be used to increase equity in eating disorder care, review current initiatives, and discuss ways to equitably design interventions.



Speaker

  • Samantha Turner, PhD, RN
    Samantha Turner (she/her) is a registered nurse and postdoctoral fellow in the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her research centers around equitable access to eating disorder prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment, particularly for adolescents in marginalized bodies. She aims to restructure the eating disorder assessment and treatment landscape to include all of those who can benefit and sees nursing as a discipline well-suited to this challenge.

Moderator

  • Karina Allen, PhD
    Dr. Karina Allen is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the South London and Maudsley Eating Disorders Outpatients Service and a King's College London Senior Lecturer. 

•Managing High Acuity Eating Disorder Patients in Private Practice

Date/Time:
March 25, 2025, noon-1:00pm ET

This webinar is hosted by the Private Practice SIG and is available to all AED members. Please log in to register.

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Description:

Patients with severe eating disorders frequently present to private practice clinicians. Without a built-in team and with limited resources, private practice clinicians often grapple with these clients who may be unwilling or unable to access a higher level of care. This outpatient panel, including a medical doctor, dietitian, therapist, and parent with lived experience, will discuss the ethical, legal, and clinical implications of caring for these patients in private practice. How do we balance meeting clients where they are, providing competent care, protecting ourselves, and supporting recovery? Panel members will discuss considerations for creating a multidisciplinary team, appropriate documentation, limit setting, harm reduction strategies, communication, continued hope for recovery, and termination issues.



Speakers

  • Shelly Bar, MD
    Dr. Shelly Bar is a highly qualified and experienced physician with double board certification in Internal Medicine and Adolescent Medicine. She has extensive training and experience in Internal Medicine and Adolescent Medicine, having completed her residency at Kaiser San Francisco and her Fellowship at Stanford Medical Center. Additionally, Dr. Bar has worked as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Stanford University Medical School.

  • Danyale McCurdy-McKinnon, PhD
    Dr. McCurdy-McKinnon is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (CA #25161) and the Founder of Dr. McCurdy-McKinnon & Associates: Eating Disorders & Wellness Clinic – located in Downtown Los Angeles. The practice specializes in eating disorders and body image concerns. Dr. McCurdy-McKinnon has 20 years of experience working with eating and body image disorders and was trained by some of the leading experts in the field. She is actively involved in the Academy for Eating Disorders and serves on the editorial board for Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention.

  • Stefanie Ginsburg, RD, CEDS-C
    Stefanie Ginsburg, RD, CEDS-C has been a Registered Dietitian since 2006 Stefanie Ginsburg, RD, CEDS-C has been a Registered Dietitian since 2006 and is the owner of UNRESTRICTED NUTRITION Counseling and Consulting, a virtual group practice specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating and general eating/feeding struggles. Her career began as a Nutrition Therapist working for three years at the Center for Eating Disorders through Penn Medicine Princeton Health, treating inpatients and partial hospitalization patients of all ages. During an eight-year tenure at Eating Recovery Center of Denver's Child and Adolescent Program, she became a Senior Clinical Dietitian and the company's subject matter expert in the treatment of patients with an ARFID diagnosis, helping to create a treatment protocol, admission assessments and providing trainings for fellow clinicians and floor staff. While with ERC and since starting her private practice, she has trained a multitude of professionals, working at all levels of care, about ARFID and best care practices.

  • Judy Krasna
    Judy Krasna is the Executive Director of F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders). She is the mother of four children, including a daughter who struggled with an eating disorder for 13 years before taking her own life, and is an eating disorders parent advocate. She offers free support and advice to parents of people with eating disorders. Judy is an active member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and advocates both in Israel and globally.

Moderators

  • Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D., FAED, CEDS-C
    Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D., FAED, CEDS-C is a psychologist, fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), and certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS) and approved consultant for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). She directs Eating Disorder Therapy LA, a group practice in Los Angeles. She integrates various evidence-based treatments along with Health at Every Size® principles. She is certified in FBT for adolescent eating disorders and is the author of When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder. Dr. Muhlheim has held leadership roles in several professional organizations including the AED, IAEDP LA Chapter, and the Los Angeles County Psychological Association.

  • Lauren Anton, MS, RD, CEDS-C
    Lauren Anton is a weight-inclusive Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Eating Disorder specialist, and trained meditation instructor. I do speaking, workshops, 1:1 nutrition therapy, in-person cooking experientials, mindfulness, and meditation,. I specialize in eating disorders and sports nutrition. I am based in the Greater Los Angeles area (specifically, Culver City, CA). I have worked in most levels of care, from residential to IOP. I am also a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and work with clients to bring them from a punitive exercise approach to a joyful expression of the innate strength and endurance present in each body, in whatever capacity that might be. I work with athletes of all abilities.


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