MAY 3, 2024
Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft, PhD, FAED, LP
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Director, mHealth Research Core of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences
Center for Healthy Weight and Wellness
Department of Psychiatry
Washington University School of Medicine
About the Presentation: Eating disorders are common, serious mental illnesses, but less than 20% of individuals with these problems ever receive treatment. In this talk, Dr. Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft will review her research harnessing technology to address this major treatment gap, including her work using technology to increase reach of screening, minimize drop-off from screening to services use, and ultimately improve access to both prevention and treatment, facilitating improved outcomes for eating disorders. Throughout, Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft will highlight her utilization of multisector partnerships, including with industry, non-profit organizations, government, and other community organizations, to facilitate rapid translation of research findings to real-world practice settings and communities and sustained impact.
About the Presenter: Dr. Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Director of the mHealth Research Core of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine and a licensed clinical psychologist. She has established programmatic lines of research centering on the use of technology for eating disorder prevention and treatment, eating disorder screening, and college mental health. Ultimately Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft’s work aims to disseminate evidence-based interventions from research to practice as well as extend treatments in ways that will reach the large number of people in need of care for mental health problems but who are not receiving services. She is a Fellow in the Academy for Eating Disorders and is a current recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Career Development Award. Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft has authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications, and her work has been featured in high-profile media outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, Wired, and the Wall Street Journal.