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Timko Research Group
Eating Disorders are severe, biologically based disorders with a median age of onset in adolescence. As psychiatric disorders, they are prevalent and grossly under-reported with serious and even fatal consequences. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) recognizes the following eating disorders: anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED), and unspecified feeding or eating disorder (UFED).
At this point in time, the Timko Research Group focuses the majority of its work in the area of primarily restrictive eating disorders.
The primary aim of our Lab's research is to identify risk biomarkers for a longer course of illness and develop/refine treatments for those individuals, in order to reduce the likelihood of a chronic course of illness. Under this primary goal, we study the onset and maintenance factors of restrictive eating, identify sex differences, distinguish the impact of malnutrition from the core neurobiology of anorexia, and improve existing treatment methods for AN.
A new study investigates whether flexible thinking may lead to flexible behavior for adolescents with anorexia and their parents.
Leader
C. Alix Timko, PhD
Psychologist
Dr. Timko is a psychologist and researcher focused on understanding the development and maintenance of eating disorders in adolescents. Currently, her interest is in the neurobiology of anorexia, the role of neurocognition in eating disorder maintenance, sex differences in eating disorders, and the development of new treatments for youth with eating disorders.