Katherine Schaumberg

My expertise is in vulnerability to eating and weight concerns, evidence-based treatment of psychological problems, and statistical and methodological best practices in eating and weight research. I have been integrally involved in several projects evaluating psychological and biological risk for eating and weight concerns. Further, I have contributed to the development, delivery, and evaluation of behavioral treatments for both eating and anxiety-based disorders, and I have a strong background in quantitative methods. Eating disorders and maladaptive behaviors have a high prevalence in patients with diabetes, including “diabulimia” in type 1 diabetes and binge-eating in type 2 diabetes. Behavorial treatments for these patients that address eating and anxiety-based disorders can improve glycemic control and reduce complications. My research has specifically focused on the distinction between adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. I aim to understand dispositional differences and environmental circumstances under which individuals enact positive habits, compared with when they engage in problematic behavioral patterns (e.g. driven exercise, disinhibited or restrictive eating, purging behaviors, substance misuse). I plan to advance biopsychosocial models of behavior in efforts to identify risk, inform conceptualization of maladaptive behavior, and promote evidence-based treatment approaches for eating disorders and related conditions.