Lab Members
Faculty
Dr. C. Alix Timko, PhD (she/her)
Principal Investigator
timkoc@chop.edu
267-426-5467
Dr. C. Alix Timko is an Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is Director of Psychiatric and Behavioral Health Research in the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is also faculty in PolicyLab, where she serves as the faculty lead for the Adolescent Health and Well-being Portfolio. Her current work focuses on eating disorders in adolescents, specifically understanding risk factors for a longer course of illness and developing/refining treatments.
A former Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Scholar, the role of sex as a biological variable underscores most of her work. Ongoing projects include a focus on neuro-cognition, reward circuitry, and what role they play (separately and together) in the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa. She is actively examining sex differences in social reward in adolescents with anorexia nervosa as well as the role of role of sex hormones and inflammation in the development and/or maintenance of anorexia. Recently, she has extended her research interests to the microbiome and its role in eating disorder maintenance and recovery.
Dr. Timko's clinical research examines the potential benefits of using Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) as an adjunctive treatment to gold-standard family-based treatment (FBT) for adolescents with eating disorders. Her treatment-focused work also includes the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in the treatment of eating disorders and using ACT-informed health coaching to positively impact a variety of health behaviors.
Research Psychologist
Dr. Marita Cooper, PhD (she/her)
Dr. Marita Cooper received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Australian National University where her research examined muscle dysmorphia and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Dr. Cooper serves on the editorial board for the International Journal for Eating Disorders and Eating Disorders: Journal of Treatment of Prevention. She has extensive experience in treating eating disorders across the lifespan, including specialized training in Family Based Therapy (FBT) and Enhanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT-e). Dr. Cooper is an author of the Safe Exercise at Every Stage guideline, supporting healthy return to exercise for those with an eating disorder, and has presented research on dysfunctional exercise, muscularity-oriented disordered eating, and medical complications of anorexia nervosa at conferences for the Academy for Eating Disorders, Eating Disorders Research Society, and the Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders. Her recent research focuses on understanding the underlying mechanisms of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.
Post-doctoral Fellow
Dr. Samantha Turner, PhD, RN (she/her)
Dr. Turner received her nursing degree and PhD in nursing from UMass Chan Medical School. There, her research focused on weight stigma in pediatric healthcare and eating disorder treatment, as well as policy approaches to reduce the prevalence of disordered weight control behaviors among children and adolescents. Clinically, Samantha has worked as a pediatric nurse in primary care, school settings, and outpatient eating disorder programs. In her free time, she enjoys camping, baking, and spending time with her husband, son, and two dogs.
Research Team
Pascal Beckert-McGirr, BA (he/him)
Clinical Research Assistant
beckertmcp@chop.edu
Pascal Beckert-McGirr is a clinical research assistant and splits his time across three different studies. He graduated from Harvard University with a BA in government and a minor in psychology. Pascal plans to pursue a PhD in sociology and is especially interested in researching inequality and social determinants of health. Outside of lab, he enjoys jogging, playing and watching soccer, learning languages, and hiking!
William Brake, BA (he/him)
Clinical Research Assistant
brakew@chop.edu
William Brake graduated from William & Mary in 2022 with departmental honors in English. He has worked as a research assistant at Temple University’s Mood and Cognition Lab. He is currently the primary research coordinator on the Shifting Perspectives Study. William plans to pursue a Psy.D. in clinical psychology and enjoys hanging out with friends, hiking, and reading in his spare time.
Emily Ferrer, BA (she/her)
Clinical Research Assistant
ferrere@chop.edu
Emily Ferrer is a Clinical Research Assistant. She supports five different studies in lab, including one focused on interoception in ARFID. She graduated from Montclair State University with a BA in Psychology and Justice Studies in May 2023 - Emily plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a focus on restrictive eating disorders, the effects of malnutrition on the body, the role of interoception in eating disorder risk and maintenance, and the treatment for eating disorders in adolescence and young adults. In her free time she loves to go on hikes with her rescue dog, Rummy, baking, cooking, camping, and going out with friends.
Shifting Perspectives Clinical Team
Dr. Courtney Breiner, PhD
Study Therapist
Courtney Breiner is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University at Albany, SUNY in 2023. Her primary research focus is increasing accessibility of eating disorder treatment by creating and adapting evidence-based approaches for broader dissemination. Her current work includes a brief intervention for ARFID and a single session intervention for the targeted prevention of eating disorders. Her clinical work primarily uses FBT and CBT. Outside of work, she likes to run, drink local coffee, and dog sit.
Dr. Shelby Ortiz, PhD (she/her)
Study Therapist
Shelby Ortiz is a Clinical Psychologist and recently completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (CEED) at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has gained extensive research and clinical experience with eating disorders by working at The Renfrew Center, Eating Recovery Center, the CHOP’s Eating Disorder Research Program, and CEED. Her research interests include identifying eating disorder risk factors using novel statistical techniques and examining the longitudinal comorbidity between suicidal thoughts and behaviors and body image disorders. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, exploring new cities, and drinking coffee with her cats.
Dr. Brooke Singer, PsyD (she/her)
Study Therapist
Dr. Brooke Singer is clinical psychologist and interventionist on the Shifting Perspectives Study. She received her Psy.D. from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine where she obtained extensive training in evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and integrative approaches. She additionally has received training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing techniques. Brooke has extensive experience providing individual, group, and family-based therapeutic services to children, adolescents, and adults with diverse mental health and interpersonal challenges. She has worked in various clinical settings including foster care, community mental health, traditional outpatient, private practice, hospital, and family medicine sites. Regarding specialized treatment experience, Brooke has been trained in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Family Based Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa, and Cognitive Remediation for Anorexia Nervosa. Through this training, Brooke has experience working with families to navigate various challenges in a collaborative, strength-based, and supportive manner.
Graduate Research Assistants
Heather Keyser, MA (she/her)
Heather is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at La Salle University. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2018 at Lafayette College. Her research and clinical interests are in eating disorder treatment and clinical health psychology. She has previous research experience working at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Studies of Addiction. In her free time, Heather enjoys trying new restaurants in Philadelphia and spending time with her family and friends.
Jiana Schnabel
Jiana Schnabel is a doctoral student pursuing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Temple University under the mentorship of Dr. Lauren Alloy. She graduated from Tufts University in 2020 with a BS in Psychology and Economics. Her research interests include the neurobiology of eating and mood disorders. She is interested in the role of neurocognition and reward system processing in the onset and maintenance of eating and mood disorders. In her free time, Jiana enjoys running, spending time outdoors, and checking out all of Philly's awesome coffee shops and restaurants!
Alexis Libert
Alexis Libert is a counseling psychology doctoral student at Felician University. Her research and clinical interests focus on mental health care access and advancing the development and delivery of more accessible and equitable eating disorder treatment. Alexis also has clinical experience in residential substance use treatment, and as a study provider for health psychology clinical trials within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In her free time, she enjoys reading, jogging, and walking her dogs.
Qianyu Zhou, M.S.Ed (she/her)
Qianyu (Olive) Zhou received her degree in Counseling and Mental Health Services/Professional Counseling at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a BS in Applied Psychology from New York University. She aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with research interests in developing novel treatment modalities for eating disorders and exploring the cultural aspects of these disorders, especially within East Asian populations. In her leisure time, Olive enjoys reading, watching movies, and listening to rock and jazz music.
Grace Haase, BA (she/her)
Grace Haase is a doctoral student working with Dr. Julia Hormes at University at Albany - State University of New York. She has a long history with the Timko Research Group. She first worked with TRG in summer of 2019 as an intern. She later returned and worked as a research assistant on the Shifting Perspectives Study. She continues to collaborate with TRG and is interested in co-morbidity in with eating disorders, intolerance of uncertainty, and the relationship between eating disorders and athletics, particularly within the running community. She enjoys jogging and spending time with her friends and family.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Natalia (Tali) Fel
Natalia (Tali) Fel is studying Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Timko Research Group in the spring of 2023 as a Research Assistant and plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology following graduation. Outside of class, she enjoys reading, hiking, and baking.
Kristen Cunningham
Remote Research Assistant
Kristen Cunningham is an undergraduate at Temple University pursuing a BS in Neuroscience. Her research interests include understanding the risk factor and impact of eating disorders for athletes. Outside of the classroom, she is a member and treasurer of the Temple Women's Club Volleyball team. In Summer 2024 she was a CRISSP Scholar in TRG. She continues to collaborate with the team and is assisting with a systematic review focused on physical activity. In her free time she enjoys exploring new restaurants in Philly and spending time with family and friends.
Lauren Greenberg
Remote Research Assistant
Lauren Greenberg is an undergraduate at Lehigh University with an interest to pursue a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience. Her interests include studying the effectiveness of treatment for body dysmorphic disorder, as well as understanding risk factors for anorexia nervosa and patients with comorbidities such as OCD and Major Depressive Disorder. Outside of class, Lauren’s passion is to spread awareness and reduce the stigma of eating disorders within the community. A Summer 2024 Intern, Lauren continues to collaborate with the team and assists with remote data scoring. Lauren enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, hiking, and exploring the Philadelphia food scene.
Sydney Sharkey
Remote Research Assistant - High School
Sydney Sharkey is a senior at Marymount School in New York. She is interested in understanding more about eating disorders scientifically and how early detection can result in better outcomes after working on equitable access to eating disorder treatment with Project HEAL. A 2024 High School Intern with TRG, she is assisting with a systematic review on physical activity. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting and playing with her dogs.
