Neurobiology of avoidant/restrictive eating in youth

项目总结/摘要 申请人伊丽莎白·A。劳森医学博士，理学硕士，是马萨诸塞州的神经内分泌学家 总医院和哈佛医学院医学副教授。在过去的十年里，博士。 劳森的研究集中在激素信号，大脑功能，心理学和 在体重和饮食失调的人群中的饮食行为。她成功的指导 经验、出版物和资金记录证明了她对以病人为导向的承诺和热情。 研究并提供一个良好的基础，以实现K24奖的目标和目的。的 具体目标是：1）使劳森博士能够根据她的经验， 美国国立卫生研究院已经资助了R 01基金，用于研究避免性/限制性饮食的神经生物学基础; 2）指导 住院医师，研究员和初级教师从精神病学，内分泌学，和其他领域在MGH和跨 机构的目标是将他们培养成能够成功竞争同行的临床研究者， 审查与NIMH使命有关的赠款;和3）为了使劳森博士能够进一步建立一个病人- 一个以研究为导向的项目，使用创新的多学科技术来研究神经生物学 潜在的饮食行为，并提供了一个理想的环境，以培养未来的领导者在临床 research.培训环境在教学资源和技术可用性方面非常出色 评估跨学科的终点。重要的是，劳森博士有来自领导层的坚定承诺， 内分泌学和精神病学都热情地支持她的研究计划，指导， K24提案。该应用程序的具体研究目标是基于最近资助的R 01调查 避免性/限制性饮食青少年的激素、大脑功能和临床特征之间的联系。 重要的新方向将包括多模式神经成像，包括评估大脑结构（灰色）， 脑白质体积和白色连接性）以及与脑功能异常和临床 功能.

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.