Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE)
The Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors, or CARE, is directed by Dr. Kelsie Forbush. CARE is a designated research center within the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas.
CARE & COPE Updates
Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities
There are ample opportunities for undergraduate students to become involved in our research center! Currently, research internships are for credit through PSYCH 480. Interns can expect to devote three semester hours per week (9 hours of lab work plus 1-hour lab meeting, a total of 10 hours per week).
Please visit the following link for more information on responsibilities and to apply to be an undergraduate research assistant in our center.
Please visit the following link for more information on responsibilities and to apply to be an undergraduate research assistant in our center.
Center for Overcoming Problem Eating (COPE Lab)
The Center for Overcoming Problem Eating, or COPE Lab, is composed of a skilled team of clinical psychologists, graduate and post-doctoral researchers, and research assistants who are dedicated to providing treatment that is efficient, engaging, convenient, and efficacious.
Center Support
CARE has been supported through generous donations, industry-sponsored awards, and research grants, including the M. Erik Wright Endowment, Clifford B. Kinley Trust, National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), Healthy Weight Research Network, National Institute of Health (NIH), and University of Kansas (KU) New Faculty General Research Fund and Strategic Initiatives Grant.
CARE News
Disparities in Black maternal health fuel KU research project to find better ways to identify eating disorders in pregnant and postpartum individuals
In an effort to improve healthcare disparities among Black and pregnant or postpartum individuals, Mari Thomeczek, a KU graduate student at the Center for the Advancement of Research on Eating Behaviors (CARE) recently finished an important phase of work to improve eating disorder screening questions.
Publication on CARE pilot study shows efficacy of single-session mobile health interventions to reduce binge eating for college students
A new publication presenting results from CARE graduate student Sonakshi Negi's HOPE study shows promise as a single-session digital intervention for college students with binge eating concerns.
New article co-authored by CARE collaborators and directors examines interactions between sleep habits and eating disorders
A new article entitled “Associations between intraindividual variability in weekday-weekend sleep timing and duration and eating disorder pathology” is in press with the April 2025 issue of Eating Behaviors and is currently available online. As the field of research examining the interaction of sleep health and eating disorders expands, this...
CARE's successful mobile phone intervention for eating disorders on college campuses will expand
The BEST-U program, an 11-week treatment underpinned by guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy, has shown “most participants were fully recovered from their eating disorder” during a pilot program at the University of Kansas.
CARE's 2024 Impact
23
scientific papers published by CARE researchers between 2023 and 2024
18
first author posters and presentations from CARE researchers at both national and international conferences
$7.7M
in grant funding for active studies and projects that wrapped up in 2024