Newswise — Reston, VA, May 10, 2021 – The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) is proud to announce its 2021 International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) awardees. Each year, AED honors those who have made significant contributions to the treatment, scientific understanding, and awareness of eating disorders. The honorees for 2021 include:
Lifetime Achievement
For pioneering lifetime contributions to the Academy for Eating Disorders and to the field of eating disorders in the areas of treatment, research, education, and administration.
Dr. Tim Walsh is the William and Joy Ruane Professor of Pediatric Psychopharmacology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Director of the Division of Clinical Therapeutics at New York State Psychiatric Institute. He is the author and editor or co-editor of five books on adolescent health and eating disorders. He has been widely influential and touched the careers of many generations of eating disorders scholars. He is virtually a household name in the field. Dr. Walsh headed the eating disorders section for the DSM-5 and has been president of both the AED and the Eating Disorders Research Society. His research group at Columbia conducts pioneering and multidisciplinary research bridging the field from fundamental insights to clinical practice.
Meehan-Hartley Leadership Award for Public Service and/or Advocacy
Eric van Furth, PhD, FAED and Scarlet Hemkes, co-founders of Proud2BMe
In recognition of individuals who have significantly advanced the field of eating disorders through their impact on public policy, government advocacy, or service to the community.
Proud2Bme is a Dutch language e-community for individuals with eating problems and eating disorders. It was established in 2009 by Scarlet Hemkes, a communications professional with lived experience with an eating disorder, and Eric van Furth, professor of eating disorders at Leiden University and director of Rivierduinen Eating Disorders Ursula. Proud2Bme is highly interactive and offers information (blogs), a large forum and daily moderated group chats. The forum and chats are moderated by individuals with a lived experience and professionals (dieticians, psychologists). Proud2Bme is also present on YouTube (vlogs), Instagram and Twitter. The e-community has become the largest mental health community in the Netherlands with 2 million unique visitors per year: www.Proud2Bme.nl
Award in Clinical, Administrative, or Education Service
In recognition of contributions to the clinical care and well-being of individuals with eating disorders through clinical contributions to the field.
Dr. Yael Latzer is the Dean of the School of Social Work, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Science at Haifa University in Israel and Research Director of the Eating Disorders Institute at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. She is an outstanding researcher and clinician and has had a lasting influence on the field of eating disorders in Israel. She is among the founders of the Israeli Association for Eating Disorders and was as its president for five years. She has published over 150 peer reviewed publications. She has helped to establish four recovery houses in Israel to help people with eating disorders maintain and continue their recovery after inpatient treatment. Prof. Latzer established the second of these recovery houses in the North of Israel in 2009, called “Zeida Laderech” (“Provisions for the Way” in Hebrew). The house provides a publicly funded long-term rehabilitation program for young women and men in a supportive, home-like environment and aims to strengthen residents’ autonomy and coping strategies and helps them set and reach goals and improve their quality of life, in preparation for independent life in the community.
Leadership Award in Research
In recognition of an internationally respected body of research yielding new knowledge about eating disorders and measurably advancing the field.
Professor Ulrike Schmidt has contributed to the eating disorder field for over 30 years, publishing 450+ peer-reviewed articles and becoming an AED Fellow in 2007. Her research has furthered our understanding of the etiology of eating disorders; provided new treatment and early intervention approaches; and generated new lines of research. Prof. Schmidt developed the UK’s first coordinated, evidence-based early intervention approach for recent onset eating disorders in 16-25 year-olds (‘FREED’). She has supported the rollout of FREED nationally around England and, increasingly, internationally to diverse service contexts. She co-chairs the AED Early Intervention Special Interest Group and continues to lead early intervention research. In addition, Prof. Schmidt led the development of the Maudsley Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA), now as 1 of 3 psychological therapies for anorexia nervosa. MANTRA provides a new way of conceptualizing anorexia nervosa and has substantially furthered options for formulating and treating this illness. Furthermore, Prof. Schmidt has led pioneering work in non-invasive neuromodulation treatments and associated understanding of the neurobiology of eating disorders. And finally, Prof. Schmidt was one of the earliest developers of guided self-help resources and protocols for bulimia nervosa and related conditions. Alongside these major areas of influence and contribution, Prof. Schmidt has supported research students and clinicians to progress their research careers, been the recipient of many high profile awards, and maintained her Consultant Psychiatrist post in a busy public eating disorder service, which facilitates continual interface between research and clinical practice.
Distinguished Service Award for a Foundation
Hilda & Preston Davis Foundation
In recognition of the foundation’s generous contributions to increasing the impact and effectiveness of the mission of the Academy for Eating Disorders and for special contributions to eating disorders awareness and prevention.
The Hilda and Preston Davis Foundation has done tremendous work to supporting the eating disorders field, especially in early career research grants for clinical investigators in the field of eating disorders. The foundation’s grants have allowed numerous eating disorders clinical scholars to both launch their careers and to augment federal funding to support new lines of research for more seasoned scholars. In addition to offering research funding support at critical career junctures, they also provide needed education in eating disorders to junior basic scientists, thereby expanding the community of individuals committed to understanding eating disorders. Many of the rising stars in the field have been Davis Foundation Scholars. The Davis Foundation has demonstrated enormous commitment to supporting the full range of work required to improve the lives of individuals with eating disorders.
Corporate Leadership Award
In recognition of corporations for their generous contributions to increasing the impact and effectiveness of the mission of the Academy for Eating Disorders and for special contributions to eating disorders awareness and prevention.
Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) made an important contribution to the eating disorders field in form of comprehensive and high-quality investigations into the devastating social and economic cost of eating disorders in the United States and, previously, in Australia. DAE has performed the most comprehensive studies of the impact of eating disorders on national economies worldwide. Through its extraordinary work, DAE has quantified the enormous annual costs to national economies while also illuminating the reality of financial burden for individuals and families, who bear the plurality of the costs often without government or insurer assistance. Importantly, DAE’s investigations have also identified where there may be key leverage points across sectors for governments to intervene to save lives and reduce the burden of healthcare-induced debt. The DAE full report on the cost to the US economy and the accompanying research article serves as a blueprint for similar efforts in other countries, and the findings provide compelling data about the need for policy action.
ABOUT
The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) is an international professional association committed to leadership in Eating Disorders research, education, treatment, and prevention. The goal of the AED is to provide global access to knowledge, research, and best treatment practice for Eating Disorders. For additional information, please contact Elissa Myers at (703) 626-9087 and visit the AED website at www.aedweb.org.
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