Graduate Student Alumni
Jillian Nelson, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Dissertation Title: Examining the Role of Interoception in Disordered Eating and Posttraumatic Stress
Current Position: Post Doctoral Fellow, Minneapolis VA
Dr. Jillian Nelson received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System in 2024. Jill received her Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. Prior to graduate school she worked for 3 years at a residential eating disorder treatment facility, and as a research coordinator in the Minnesota Center for Eating Disorders Research. During graduate school, Jill's program of research examined the mechanisms underlying comorbid eating disorders (EDs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her publications to date have examined coping motives in individuals with a history of sexual assault, symptom relationships between EDs and PTSD using network analysis, and the effects of discrimination on ED symptoms within the context of other potentially traumatic experiences. Her dissertation examines atypical interoception as a common risk factor for EDs and PTSD using neurobiological and self-report measures.
Naomi Pak, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Dissertation Title: Cultural Adaptation of a Prevention Program for Korean American Parents of Adolescents
Current Position: Private Practice
Dr. Naomi Pak received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates, IL in 2022, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego Eating Disorders Program. During her predoctoral clinical internship, Dr. Pak worked in the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs for eating disorders (EDs) as well as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. She has extensive training in evidence-based treatments of EDs and their comorbidities including mood and anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, self-injurious behavior, and suicidality across all levels of care. With her training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Dr. Pak focuses her clinical work on integrating and tailoring evidence-based treatments to help patients reach their goals and create a life worth living. Her research interests include ED treatment development and implementation, the function of ED behaviors (i.e., non-suicidal self-injury and body checking) in emotion regulation, and barriers to care among historically-marginalized populations.
Claire Aarnio-Peterson, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Current Position: Associate Professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center/University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Dr. Claire Aarnio-Peterson received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from University of Georgia under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship at UNC Chapel Hill with Dr. Cynthia Bulik investigating eating disorders. She then completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center (CCHMC) with Dr. Abigail Matthews. She currently is the Lead Psychologist in the Eating Disorders Program at CCHMC. Her clinical and research interests are primarily in the areas of advancing evidence-based treatment for adolescents with eating disorders, the role of impulsivity in eating disorders across diverse populations including the gender diverse, and risk for eating disorders in individuals with chronic illnesses such as type 1 diabetes. She is currently finishing an NIH R34 examining the effectiveness of augmenting family based treatment with an emotion coaching intervention for families of adolescents with anorexia nervosa high in expressed emotion.
Paige Trojanowski, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Dissertation Title: Adapting a Cognitive Dissonance-based Eating Disorders Prevention Program for Teen Girls With Type 1 Diabetes
Current Position: Celiac Disease Program, Children’s National Hospital
Dr. Paige Trojanowski received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship in 2022. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, University of ColoradoHer research and clinical interests are in the field of pediatric Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), with a particular goal to assist children and adolescents diagnosed with T1D and their families cope and adjust to their child living with a chronic illness. Dr. Paige Trojanowski investigates the impact of celiac disease on coping for individuals living with T1D, and the comorbidity between T1D and celiac disease. Her research focuses on designing multidisciplinary interventions to prevent and intervene upon psychosocial problems, particularly disordered eating, and improve self-management in children and adolescents with chronic illness.
Monika Stojek, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Current Position: Associate Professor at The University of Silesia in Katowice
Dr. Monika Stojek received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship. Her research interests involve investigating links among trauma exposure, eating behaviors, addictive behaviors, and physical health. Associate professor and director of the Trauma, Health and Eating (Thrive) Lab at the University of Silesia. She is currently an associate professor at The University of Silesia in Katowice.
Lauren Breithaupt, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Dissertation Title: Towards a Theoretical Framework for Dissonance Induced Attitude Change in Prevention Interventions: Evidence from Behavioral Interventions, Ecological Momentary Assessment, and Neuroimaging
Current Position: Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Lauren Breithaupt received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship in 2021. Lauren then completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital (HMS/MGH) studying biological markers for eating disorders. Her research and clinical interests are identifying modifiable state specific biomarkers in eating disorders to improve diagnosis and treatment staging. Lauren’s current work is working within a randomized control trial that focuses on estrogen as a neuroprotective hormone in anorexia nervosa.
Catherine Byrne, Ph.D (She/Her)
Dissertation Title: The Integration of Exposure Sessions into Family-based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia: A Treatment Development Study
Current Position: Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Sleep, Mood, Anxiety Research & Treatment Division
Dr. Catherine Byrne received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Child & Family Therapy Track in 2020. She then completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Kennedy Krieger Institute studying eating disorders within pediatric populations. She studies the comorbidity between eating disorders and other psychological disorders, such as anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and OCD and related disorders that are presented in pediatric populations. She focuses on the treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults.
Joe Wonderlich, Ph.D. (He/Him)
Dissertation Title: Anger and Pavlovian Bias: Integrating Laboratory Task Performance and Ecological Momentary Assessment
Current Position: Assistant Scientist, Center for Biobehavioral Research, Sanford Research; Clinical Lead, Eating Disorder Unit, Sanford Health
Dr. Joseph Wonderlich received his PhD in clinical psychology from George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of his clinical internship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in 2020. He then completed a NIMH T32 fellowship in psychiatric neuroscience at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/ New York State Psychiatric Institute studying the neurobiological correlates of eating disorders. He is actively involved in research and serves as the Clinical Lead at the Sanford Health Inpatient Eating Disorders Program. Dr. Wonderlich studies various biological and behavioral mechanisms associated with eating disorder risk, maintenance, and recovery. His research seeks to bring basic science into the real world by incorporating various biological assessments (e.g., MRI, EEG, Gut Peptides, and the Microbiome) and behavioral assessments (laboratory tasks) with real-time assessment of eating disorder behavior via ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Much of this work examines the intersection of impulsivity, affect, and reward processing in the context of binge eating.
Kendra Davis-Becker, Ph.D
Current Position: Director of Translational Research at the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and a staff psychologist at the Massachusetts General Brigham’s Women’s Sports Medicine Program
Dr. Kendra Becker received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Georgia under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Fischer upon completion of her clinical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She then completed her postdoctoral training at the EDCRP via a NIMH fellowship grant (F32MH11127) under the mentorship of Drs. Kamryn T. Eddy, Jennifer J. Thomas, Elizabeth A. Lawson. Her research focuses on understanding mechanisms motivating and maintaining disordered eating, with a particular focus on reward and affective constructs. She has received HMS and NIMH funding (F32MH11127) to better understand the importance of weight status on brain and hormone functioning in the two primary restrictive eating disorders: anorexia nervosa (AN) and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). She is currently funded on a NIMH K23 award (MH125143) integrating fMRI, hormonal functioning, and ecological momentary assessment to understand emotion functioning in adults with ARFID. Additionally, she also maintains a small private practice where she provides cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and individual dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) to patients with anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and trauma-related disorders.