Abstract
This application for a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award proposes training and
research designed to provide the candidate with a foundation to establish a successful career as an
independent investigator with expertise in affective, neurocognitive, and neurological mechanisms underlying
eating psychopathology and obesity. The candidate seeks advanced training in three areas, each of which
build upon her prior knowledge and experience with ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and emotion
dysregulation in eating disorders and obesity: (1) neurobiological mechanisms of eating behavior and obesity,
including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methodology; (2) neuroscience of self-control in
relation to eating; and (3) design and analysis of multi-method ambulatory assessment and intervention
approaches. Training will be guided by an interdisciplinary team (mentors and collaborators) and will involve
formal (e.g., coursework, workshops) and informal (e.g., directed readings, mentoring meetings) activities
across the funding period. The research plan harnesses these training experiences and proposes a multi-
method study to examine how biobehavioral self-regulatory processes predict momentary binge eating and
short-term weight change. Specifically, this study will examine the extent to which affect, attention bias to food
cues, and impulsivity (measured via EMA, behavioral tasks, and fMRI) interact to predict real-time binge eating
symptoms and subsequent weight change among a sample of 75 adults at risk for obesity (i.e., those with
overweight body mass index who endorse regular binge eating). Participants will complete interviews, self-
report measures, an fMRI protocol that includes response inhibition and delay discounting tasks, a two-week
EMA protocol that includes ambulatory task-based measurement of attention bias, and a six-month follow-up
assessment to assess weight change. Importantly, results of this research will identify biobehavioral
mechanisms underlying binge eating and obesity risk, which will help to inform novel prevention and
interventions. Taken together, the proposed study will advance the understanding of binge eating
psychopathology in the context of obesity, and will set the stage for the candidate's future program of research.
The training and mentorship provided by the award will further facilitate the candidate's success in becoming
an independent investigator, with particular expertise in multi-method ambulatory strategies to identify and
target mechanisms contributing to eating and weight disorders.