Recent News:

• Ella Sharpe’s PSYC 395 literature review paper titled “Impact of the Family System on the Development of Disordered Eating” will be published in UNC JOURney (Journal of Undergraduate Research) (February 2025).
• Dr. Bardone-Cone will present a paper titled “Appearance Pressures in Relation to Disordered Eating Attitudes in South Asians Living in the U.S.” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in San Antonio, TX (May 2025).
• Jordan Hillard, former lab member, will present her honors thesis titled “Exploring Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in South Asian and White Women” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in San Antonio, TX (May 2025).
• Adrienne Kvaka will present a paper titled “Media Pressure and Disordered Eating in Middle-Aged Women: The Roles of Stress and Body Appreciation” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in San Antonio, TX (May 2025).
• Iman McPherson will present a talk titled “Investigating the Neurocognitive Profile of Adults with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder” as part of a panel titled “Prioritizing Longitudinal Perspectives on Neuropsychological Functioning Across Eating Disorders” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in San Antonio, TX (May 2025).
• Melisa Puopolo will present a paper titled “Who Engages in Body Checking? Examining Models of Risk with Self-Compassion as a Protective Factor” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in San Antonio, TX (May 2025).
• Lauren Wash will present a poster titled “Skin Tone Satisfaction and Surveillance in Relation to Disordered Eating among South Asian Women” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in San Antonio, TX (May 2025).
• Lauren Wash presented her master’s thesis titled “Examining the Role of Body Shame in the Relationship Between Multidimensional Perfectionism and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Black College Women” as a poster presentation at the Eating Disorders Research Society (EDRS) Annual Meeting in Sitges, Spain (September 2024).
• Emily Walsh completed her predoctoral internship at Maimonides Medical Center, a community mental health center in Brooklyn, New York, with a training focus on identity-affirming care through the center’s LGBTQ+ clinic (July 2024).
• Ale Miller defended her dissertation titled “General and Sport-Specific Risk Factors of Disordered Eating and Negative Affect among Female Aesthetic Athletes” (May 2024).
• Emily Walsh defended her dissertation, titled “Exploration of the Relationships Between Body Dissatisfaction and Sexual Experiences in a Diverse Sample of Adults: A Critical Theory-Guided, Multi-Method Approach” (May 2024).
• Lauren Wash defended her master’s thesis titled “Examining the Role of Body Shame in the Relationship Between Multidimensional Perfectionism and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Black College Women” (May 2024).
• Camilla Feeley defended her honors thesis titled “The Impact of Weight Pressures from Coaches on Female Aesthetic Athletes’ Thin-Ideal Internalization” which used data from Ale Miller’s dissertation study (May 2024).
• Jordan Hillard defended her honors thesis titled “Exploring Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in South Asian and White Women” which used data from the lab’s South Asian Body Image Study (SABI) (May 2024). 
• Dr. Bardone-Cone and Lauren Wash presented a talk titled “Examining Psychosocial Factors in Relation to Body Dissatisfaction in College Men” at the International Conference on Eating Disorders in New York City, NY. Dr. Bardone-Cone also presented a poster at the conference titled “On Hiatus: Who is Helped by Taking a Break from Social Media?” (March 2024).
• Dr. Bardone-Cone completed a Q&A on inclusive body image research and healthy eating tips for UNC’s The Well (February 2024).
• Dr. Bardone-Cone completed an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company’s “All in the Mind” program on perfectionism & eating disorders (November 2023).
• Dr. Bardone-Cone and Lauren Wash completed an interview with the Daily Tar Heel discussing a petition to remove calorie labels from UNC dining halls. The article was written by one of our new undergraduate research assistants Charlotte Wilkerson (October 2023).
• Dr. Bardone-Cone presented an invited webinar titled “How to Assess and Improve Body Image in Your Clients” for the National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (NCEED) (Training for Healthcare Professionals series) (April 2023).
• Dr. Bardone-Cone was selected as a Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholar, which is a 2-year experience supporting engaged scholarship (2023-2025). 

Our lab is strongly committed to promoting diversity and considers an ideal scientific community to be one that includes a diverse representation of individuals at all academic levels. We are committed to training students and scientists of diverse backgrounds and conducting research that addresses topics related to diversity. We encourage students from backgrounds historically underrepresented to apply to our lab, including but not limited to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and first-generation college students.