The Columbia Center for Eating Disorders, led by Evelyn Attia, MD (Director) and Joanna Steinglass, MD (Director of Research), is a specialty research clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute committed to furthering the understanding of these complex disorders and their treatment. Our program provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient clinical services to patients based on best practices and is unique in its ability to offer treatment at no cost in exchange for participation in research. We are a multidisciplinary team, staffed with highly skilled, experienced clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and dietitians. Our clinician researchers are committed to providing a collaborative, varied, and high-quality learning experience for trainees at all levels of experience, including post-doctoral fellows, externs, research assistants, and volunteers.
T32 Post-doctoral Research Fellowship
This three-year NIH-supported T32 post-doctoral program trains MDs and PhDs for clinical research careers in eating disorders. Fellows participate in a vibrant research environment at Columbia University where treatment development, cognitive neuroscience, eating behavior, and translational research studies are ongoing.
Eligibility: MD with completed psychiatric, pediatric or internal medicine residency programs as well as PhD’s in psychology or related health care field will be considered. Applicants need to be US citizens or permanent US residents.
Core Faculty: Mentoring faculty include Drs. Evelyn Attia, Michael Devlin, Rudy Leibel, Laurel Mayer, Daphna Shohamy, Blair Simpson, Joanna Steinglass, and B. Timothy Walsh.
For additional information, click here to access our T32 portal or contact Evelyn Attia, MD at ea12@cumc.columbia.edu.
Psychology Externship
This yearlong (July-June) externship focuses on the delivery of evidence-based individual and group psychotherapy for adolescents and adults with eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Treatment approaches include Family-Based Treatment (FBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT).
Externs will gain experience in diagnostic assessment and treatment modalities, including group, individual and family-based psychotherapy. Supervision will be provided by licensed clinical psychologists working in the clinical research program. Externs will participate in team meetings and have the opportunity to attend a range of didactics (within and beyond the eating disorders program) and case conferences, observe clinical research assessments and procedures, and, if desired, participate in ongoing academic and/or lay-public writing projects. A detailed overview of the externship program can be found here.
For a full description of the application guidelines and procedures, including the timeline for application submissions and interview scheduling, see PSYDNYS-NYNJADOT Externship Guidelines (https://nynjadot.apa.org/).
For additional information, please email the Training Director, Deborah Glasofer, PhD at deborah.glasofer@nyspi.columbia.edu.
Research Assistantship
The position is a 2-year commitment, and perfect for recent graduates (or those about to graduate) hoping to take a few gap years before applying to medical school or graduate school. It is a full-time, paid position in NYC. It is a research position first and foremost, but has excellent hands-on clinical opportunities, as well.
Interested applicants can email Loren Gianini, PhD loren.gianini@nyspi.columbia.edu with a resume/CV.
Applications are typically reviewed during the month of January.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers support our full-time research assistants in their tasks, which may include data/chart organization, food shopping, and helping with the recruitment of healthy control study participants. There are also sometimes opportunities to contribute to scholarly writing projects, and/or to contribute to our blog.
Interested applicants can email Loren Gianini, PhD at loren.gianini@nyspi.columbia.edu with a resume/CV.
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Columbia Center for Eating Disorders