Dr. Irina Vanzhula
- COPE Lab Clinical Director
- Assistant Research Professor, Department of Psychology
Contact Info
Biography —
Dr. Vanzhula is an Assistant Research Professor and the Clinical Director of the COPE lab. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville under the mentorship of Dr. Cheri Levinson. She completed her internship/residency training at the University of Chicago Medical Center under the supervision and mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Wildes. Prior to joining the COPE team, Dr. Vanzhula completed a 2-year clinical and research postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Eating Disorders program under the mentorship of Drs. Angela Guarda and Colleen Schreyer. Dr. Vanzhula has expertise in treating adults and adolescents with eating disorders across various levels of care (outpatient, intensive outpatient, inpatient) using evidence-based interventions. She is also experienced in the treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. In her free time, Dr. Vanzhula enjoys playing tennis, salsa/bachata dancing, playing board games, and spending time with her dog Ragnar.
Education —
Research —
Dr. Vanzhula’s research aims to improve eating disorder treatment outcomes by leveraging interventions for comorbid conditions such as anxiety (e.g., exposure and response prevention, mindfulness) and by using various novel statistical methodologies (i.e., network analysis, machine learning). More specifically, Dr. Vanzhula is interested in developing exposure-based meal interventions to improve regular eating and reduce meal anxiety. She is also passionate about using longitudinal methods (i.e., ecological momentary assessment) and network analysis to create individual psychopathology symptom profiles to inform personalized interventions.
Selected Publications —
Vanzhula, I.A., Wang, E., Martinelli, M.K., Schreyer, C.C., & Guarda, A.S. (2023, In Press). Inpatient Hospital Course and Self-Reported Symptomatology of Underweight Adults with ARFID Compared to Age- and Sex-matched Controls with Anorexia Nervosa. Journal of Eating Disorders.
Cusack, C.E., Vanzhula, I.A., Sandoval-Araujo, L., Pennesi, J-L., Kelley, S.W., & Levinson, C.A. (2023, Advanced online publication). Are Central Eating Disorder Network Symptoms Sensitive to Item Selection and Sample? Implications for Conceptualization of Eating Disorder Psychopathology from a Network Perspective. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science.
Vanzhula, I. A., Spoor, S. P., Ernst, S. E., Cusack, C. E., Farrell, N. R., Nuñez, M., Essayli, J. H., & Levinson, C. A. (2023). Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Fear of Food Measure in adolescents across three independent samples. Psychological assessment, 35(9), 751–762. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001260
Christian, C., Vanzhula, I.A., Ciotti, V., Levinson, C.A. (2023, Advanced online publication). Development and validation of a broad and fear-adaptable measure of fear approach and application to common eating disorder fears. Assessment.
Vanzhula, I.A., Duck, S.A., Pletch, A., Guarda, A., & Schreyer, C. (2023). Greater dietary variety is associated with lower food anxiety at discharge from intensive eating disorder treatment. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56(7): 1365-1377.
Levinson, C.A., Hunt, R.A., Keshishian, A.C., Brown, M.L., Vanzhula, I. A., Christian, C., Brosof, L. C., Williams, B. M. (2021). Using individual networks to identify treatment targets for eating disorder treatment: A Proof-of-Concept Study and Initial Data. Journal of Eating Disorders, 9, 147
Vanzhula, I. A., Kinkel-Ram, S., & Levinson, C. A. (2021). Perfectionism and difficulty controlling thoughts bridge eating disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder: A network analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 283: 302-309.
Vanzhula, I.A., Sala, M., Christian, C., Hunt, R.A., Keshishian, A., Wong, V.Z., Ernst, S., Spoor, S., & Levinson, C. A. (2020). Avoidance coping during mealtimes predicts an increase in eating disorder symptoms. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(4):625-630.
Vanzhula, I.A. & Levinson, C.A. (2020). Mindfulness in the treatment of eating disorders: Theoretical rationale and hypothesized mechanisms of action. Mindfulness, 11:1090–1104.
Levinson, C.A., Vanzhula, I.A., Woods, T., & Stice, E. (2018). Longitudinal and personalized networks of eating disorder symptoms in adolescents at risk for an eating disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 51(11):1233-1243.
Vanzhula, I.A., Calebs, B., Fewell, L., & Levinson, C.A. (2018). Irritability and concentration difficulties are illness pathways between eating disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms: Understanding comorbidity with network analysis. European Eating Disorder Review, 27(2), 147-160.