Frequently Asked Questions for Prospective Graduate Students

I take a structured, developmental approach. We begin by assessing each student’s interests, skills, and career goals, using ImaginePhD to help develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP). Students also use National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) resources to build academic skills and productive work habits. Early training offers more guidance and scaffolding through a structured program to foster future academic success; as students grow, they take increasing ownership of their ideas, projects, and collaborations. My goal is for students to graduate with a coherent program of research that reflects their own intellectual identity.

The first semester is intentionally concrete. Students focus on coursework, learning CARE’s systems and projects, building foundational research habits, and developing a research master’s project in conjunction with their Research Methods course. By the end of fall, I generally expect a solid thesis idea and a two-page proposal covering the literature, research gap, hypotheses, variables, and planned analyses. This foundation helps students move into more independent work as they progress toward writing a longer, full research proposal manuscript. Training and meetings continue in spring, with the emphasis tailored to students’ developing skills and projects.

We generally meet every other week. During the first semester or year, new students may meet individually or in a two-student meeting, depending on what works for the students and the team. Meeting with another new student can make it easier to learn from each other and build peer support. As training progresses, meetings become more individualized, typically about 30 minutes every two weeks in the second year. Students are also able to work with other CARE mentors between our meetings.

Individual meetings are only one part of our regular contact. I lead two to three Writers’ Group sessions each week and a weekly center-wide meeting. I also participate in our assessment consensus team supervision, which KU affiliates and collaborators Drs. Angeline Bottera and Kara Christensen-Pacella often lead or co-lead in rotation with me. For students providing therapy in our clinical trials, I meet weekly with the treatment team, often alongside Dr. Sara Gould, Director of the Eating Disorder Center at Children’s Mercy Kansas City. Together, these meetings provide frequent opportunities for mentorship, feedback, supervision, and support throughout the week.

Yes! A large team gives students access to a wider range of mentors and research resources that smaller teams cannot provide, while still maintaining regular contact with me. CARE has a full-time faculty Director of Statistics (Dr. Kazi Farhad Mahmud) who enjoys mentoring trainees and can provide dedicated statistical guidance. Our incoming Associate Director, Dr. Bernou Melisse, brings internationally recognized expertise in digital interventions for eating disorders. Dr. Alesha Doan contributes expertise in implementation science and qualitative and mixed methods research. Faculty affiliates and collaborators include Drs. Angeline Bottera, Kara Christensen, Irina Vanzhula, Dani Chapa-Iverson, Mary Oehlert, and Alicia Wendler. Students can learn from people whose expertise fits the questions they want to pursue.

CARE is part of KU’s Life Span Institute (LSI), giving students access to a broad interdisciplinary research community and infrastructure that extends beyond one laboratory. LSI offers connections across research areas and support for externally funded research, including grant development and administration. Combined with CARE’s faculty, research staff, clinical studies, and statistical expertise, this creates many ways for students to learn how ambitious clinical research is designed and carried out.

CARE focuses on research that can improve the detection, prevention, assessment, and treatment of eating disorders. Students have a structured path to eating-disorder assessment and clinical interviewing training and can contribute to assessment development, clinical trials, digital interventions, screening, and implementation research. I also want students to partner meaningfully with the communities our work is intended to serve and incorporate participatory approaches into their research.

Students’ primary research programs need to remain within eating disorders, but there is substantial room to develop a distinct focus. My interests span treatment development, assessment, classification, comorbidity, screening, and implementation. I hope students pursue questions that differ from mine while drawing on CARE’s expertise and resources. With increasing experience, they should identify their own collaborations and line of work, so that by graduation they have the beginnings of an independent research program within eating-disorder science.

Our 2-3 weekly CARE Writers’ Groups provides regular time and support for scholarly writing. Students practice writing, receive feedback on manuscripts, grants, abstracts, and presentations, and gradually take more responsibility for leading scholarly products. We treat writing as a skill developed through practice rather than one students must already have mastered.

Yes! Students learn grant writing—often through one of several grant-writing courses offered at KU—and are encouraged to pursue funding that fits their training goals. CARE students have received competitive awards including Academy for Eating Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Eating Disorder Association Young Investigator Grants. KU also offers internal grants, fellowships, and scholarships, and CARE’s externally funded projects provide opportunities to learn how larger clinical-research programs operate.

CARE has an endowment that helps support student travel for scholarly presentations. Eligibility includes attending at least 90% of CARE Writers’ Group meetings. Depending on the project and circumstances, external grant funding and KU travel awards may offer additional support.

Honest, constructive feedback is central to mentorship in CARE. I aim to make feedback specific, respectful, actionable, and appropriate to a student’s stage of training. When I give detailed feedback, it reflects how invested I am in your work and your growth. The more feedback you receive from me, the more it often means that I’m excited about your ideas and potential and want to help you develop them fully.

All team members complete brief training in giving and receiving feedback so that we share practical ways to raise concerns, listen, respond thoughtfully, and improve our work. Students should feel able to offer feedback upward as well as learn from feedback they receive. The aim is a culture where feedback is routine and constructive.

Students who thrive here care deeply about people with eating disorders and enjoy clinical research, whether in treatment, assessment, or related areas. They tend to be proactive, dependable, collaborative, respectful of others’ time and boundaries, and attentive to detail while knowing when work is ready to move forward. They take responsibility for their commitments, communicate when they need help, and welcome opportunities to learn with an open mind. There is no single background or personality type required.

I hope to mentor students who are committed to reducing weight stigma, treating people (of all backgrounds) with respect, and examining how their own bias can affect research and clinical care. Students do not need to arrive with expertise in this area, but they should be willing to learn, reflect on their assumptions, and help build a research and clinical environment where all people–regardless of their background, weight, or identity– feel respected and deeply valued.

Students work with graduate peers, research staff, faculty, statisticians, clinicians, and community partners. We aim for a cooperative culture in which people share expertise and support one another’s progress. A large team also depends on each person following through: colleagues, participants, and clinical projects may rely on the work you have agreed to do. Clear communication and accountability help everyone succeed.

I prefer that prospective applicants not email me individually before applying. I receive more inquiries than I can thoughtfully answer while reserving time for current trainees. Not contacting me will not count against an application. Instead, please review CARE’s work and the Clinical Child Psychology Program, then use your application to explain your interests, experience, goals, and potential fit with eating-disorder research in CARE.