Hello everyone!
I am delighted and honored to be asked by Laura Collins to blog about eating disorders research for FEAST. I am not the parent of someone with an eating disorder- rather, I am the sufferer herself. One who is on her way to recovery with the help of her parents and a modified Maudsley approach.
I am also a science writer by profession. I have written two books on eating disorders: a memoir, Running on Empty, and a self-help book for teens and their parents called Next to Nothing. I have a Master's of Public Health in epidemiology from the University of Michigan, and I recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with an MA in science writing (master's degrees- collect them all!).
I have written a variety of freelance pieces for such magazines as the Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine, ScienceNOW, Eating Disorders Today, and the Etsy Storque. I currently work at Chemical and Engineering News as an editorial intern. After that, who knows.
Besides that, I also have a blog on eating disorders called ED Bites. Though I do blog about research there, it's not always my focus, and nor is my audience parents. There will likely be some cross-posting between the two blogs, especially if I think an article is generally useful.
If you have any questions, suggestions for articles, or comments, please email me at carrie [AT] edbites [.] com or post them in the "comments" section.
I'm very excited to work with FEAST and I hope to meet some of you at the NEDA conference in Austin this September.
6 comments:
I'm really really tempted to try to get to Austin, but since I can't afford the petrol (gas) to get into town at the moment I think it might be pushing it. Failing that I shall be looking out for posts to this blog - good luck
Tell you what, Marcella. I'll send you a big cowboy hat and you can giddy-up into town. :)
Carrie
Wish I could get to NEDA this year, too, but alas, I will be a brand-new professor with no traveling privileges.
I'm eagerly awaiting the outcome of this research project http://www.controlled-trials.com/cctspringview2/mrct/showTrial.html?mrid=255643&srch=
How long does it take from the close of a project (this one closed yesterday) till the results are published?
Don't start counting the hours, Marcella. I'd say about one year, by the time they analyze the data, write it up, submit it to the research journals, get it sent back for revisions (assuming it's accepted on the first go- often your work isn't), send it BACK to the journal, and then wait for it to appear in print.
It's very convoluted- yet another reason why I left the research world. :)
This looks like a very promising project. I'll keep checking in, as I'm a grad student in another subfield of clinical psychology and can't always keep up on the latest ED research, though it's of great personal significance to me.
And yourself? What is it like to read research on a disorder that you yourself have struggled with? Do you find it hard to set personal/professional boundaries? That's one reason why I have been reluctant to focus on ED within clinical psychology -- I have such strong opinions about the topic, which often run counter to the latest CBT research, that I doubt my ability to keep an objective stance on the issue.
Keep up the good work!
~Ai Lu
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