Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Neurobiology of avoidant/restrictive eating in youth - Project Summary/Abstract The applicant, Elizabeth A. Lawson, M.D., M.M.Sc., is a practicing neuroendocrinologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Over the last decade Dr. Lawson’s research has focused on the link between hormone signaling, brain functioning, psychology and eating behavior in humans across a spectrum of weights and eating disorders. Her successful mentoring experience, publication and funding record demonstrate her commitment and passion for patient-oriented research and provide an excellent foundation to accomplish the goals and objectives of the K24 Award. The specific aims are: 1) To enable Dr. Lawson to dedicate time to mentor junior clinical investigators based on her already NIH funded R01 grant on neurobiological underpinnings of avoidant/restrictive eating; 2) To mentor residents, fellows, and junior faculty from Psychiatry, Endocrinology, and other fields at MGH and across institutions with the goal of developing them into clinical investigators who can successfully compete for peer- reviewed grants related to the NIMH mission; and 3) To enable Dr. Lawson to further establish a patient- oriented research program that uses innovative multidisciplinary techniques to investigate the neurobiology underlying eating behaviors, and that provides an ideal environment to develop future leaders in clinical research. The training environment is outstanding in terms of didactic resources and availability of techniques to assess cross-disciplinary endpoints. Importantly, Dr. Lawson has the strong commitment from leadership of both Endocrinology and Psychiatry who have enthusiastically endorsed her research program, mentoring, and K24 proposal. The specific research aims of the application are based on a recently funded R01 investigating the link between hormones, brain function and clinical features in youth with avoidant/restrictive eating. Important new directions will include multimodal neuroimaging, including assessment of brain structure (gray matter volume and white matter connectivity) and relationship with functional brain abnormalities and clinical features.
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