معرفی
Cynthia Bulik is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and a Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders at the Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. She also holds an appointment in the Department of Nutrition at UNC's Gillings School of Global Public Health and serves as Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway. Dr. Bulik splits her time between institutions, working full-time at Karolinska and half-time at UNC, where she founded and directs the Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders.
Dr. Bulik's research focuses on understanding the biological and genetic underpinnings of eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa. Her work spans from animal models to clinical trials, with significant contributions in genetic epidemiology through family, twin, and molecular genetic designs. She leads major international initiatives including the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI), which aims to collect data from 13,000 individuals with anorexia nervosa across multiple countries, and the Comprehensive Risk Evaluation for Anorexia nervosa in Twins (CREAT) study. Her research has demonstrated that 50-60% of the risk for developing anorexia nervosa is attributable to genetic factors, comparable to other psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia.
Analysis of Dr. Bulik's recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on genetic architecture of eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa and ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). Her work increasingly explores the connections between eating disorders and other psychiatric conditions like OCD, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder. Recent studies also examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with eating disorders and employ novel methodologies like nanopore sequencing and digital phenotyping to advance understanding of these complex conditions.
Dr. Bulik has trained numerous researchers and leads substantial research teams at both Karolinska Institutet and UNC. Her Karolinska team includes postdocs Anna Hedman, Ida Nilsson, Shuyang Yao, and Afrouz Abbaspour, while her UNC team comprises Laura Thornton, Jessica Baker, Melissa Munn-Chernoff, and Hunna Watson. She has secured significant grant funding for large-scale projects like ANGI and CEDI (Centre for Eating Disorders Innovation), which aim to identify genetic variations contributing to eating disorders and develop improved prevention and treatment strategies.
Dr. Bulik is deeply committed to translating research findings into clinical practice and reducing the stigma surrounding eating disorders. She advocates for understanding these conditions as biologically-based rather than choices, famously stating that 'it should be as easy to say you have anorexia nervosa as it is to say you suffer from asthma.' Her work demonstrates how genetic research can lead to better biological understanding and ultimately improved treatments for these serious conditions, which have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder.
