Dr. Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft is an Associate Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves as Associate Director of the mHealth Research Core of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences is a licensed psychologist. Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft has established programmatic lines of research centering on the use of technology for eating disorder prevention and treatment, eating disorder screening, sociocultural etiological and maintenance factors for eating disorders, eating disorder recovery, and college mental health. Ultimately Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft’s work aims to disseminate evidence based interventions from research to practice as well as extend treatments in ways that will reach the large number of people in need of care for mental health problems but who are not receiving services. She is a Fellow in the Academy for Eating Disorders and an Appointed Founding Member of the American Psychological Association’s Office of Health Care Innovation Advisory Committee for Mental Health Technology. Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft has authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications, and her work has been featured in high-profile media outlets, including the New York Times, 60 Minutes, the Washington Post, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.

Eating disorders are common, serious mental illnesses, but less than 20% of individuals with these problems ever receive treatment. In this talk, Dr. Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft will review her research harnessing technology to address this major treatment gap, including her work using technology to increase reach of screening, minimize drop-off from screening to services use, and ultimately improve access to both prevention and treatment, facilitating improved outcomes for eating disorders. Throughout, Dr. Fitzsimmons-Craft will highlight her utilization of multisector partnerships, including with industry, non-profit organizations, government, and other community organizations, to facilitate rapid translation of research findings to real-world practice settings and communities and sustained impact.