December 17, 2014
In collaboration with the Eating Disorders Coalition and the Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA), Beth Mayer, LICSW, Executive Director of MEDA, and STRIPED Director, Dr. S. Bryn Austin, Co-Director, Dr. Christina Roberto, and Affiliated Faculty, Jennifer Pomeranz, JD, MPH, met with Massachusetts Representative Kay Khan and her Legislative Director Emily Szargowicz to discuss steps Massachusetts can take to protect its young people from the deleterious effects of dietary supplements sold for weight control and muscle building. Click here to learn more about this category of supplements and what states can do prevent harm to their youth.
November 21, 2014
Last week a congressional Dear Colleague letter was sent to Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urging him to establish additional guidelines on in-school BMI screenings. The letter was spearheaded by the Eating Disorder Coalition and signed by 24 members of Congress, STRIPED, and other advocates. Without the presence of properly trained personnel, supportive environments, and accompanying information during in-school BMI screenings, this practice may worsen weight stigma and increase the risk of eating disorders in students. The need for this congressional Dear Colleague letter was described to members of Congress and their legislative aides by STRIPED trainees and other like-minded groups on Capitol Hill during the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day in October.
October 23, 2014
In response to lobbying efforts by STRIPED and like-minded groups at the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day on Capitol Hill on October 1, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced just two weeks later a commitment to making important changes to publicized information on BMI screening in schools on the CDC’s website. These changes include adding cautionary language to their online BMI calculator, developing webinars and updating webpage information on BMI screening. These changes are an exciting reflection of the power of advocacy!
October 1, 2014
With the generous support of the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Challenge Fund for Eating Disorders Research, STRIPED offered for the first time travel scholarships for trainees to attend the Eating Disorders Coalition Congressional Lobby Day on Capitol Hill. STRIPED was represented by a diverse group of passionate students, researchers, and clinicians who traveled to meet with members of Congress and their staff to tell them in their own words about the devastating impact of eating disorders and the urgent need for prevention. Putting democracy into action, our team joined like-minded people from all walks of life and from all across the country to convey to our national leaders how urgent the problem of eating disorders is and how vast the suffering and injustice in access to care and evidence-based prevention. We were thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response from STRIPED trainees, eager to get involved in policy advocacy on eating disorders.
September 24, 2014
This September, STRIPED Affiliated Faculty Jennifer Pomeranz was interviewed by Philadelphia’s NPR station WHYY on a recently published article by the STRIPED team about the shady business of dietary supplements sold for weight control and muscle building and what state governments can do to help better protect youth and consumers of all ages from these too-often dangerous products.
August 4, 2014
Check out STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Kendrin Sonneville’s interview on WBUR Radio’s website about a groundbreaking study by the STRIPED team showing for the first time how cost effective school-based screening for eating disorders could be if screening were done in schools across the country.
May 29, 2014
Congratulations to our newest STRIPED graduates: Grant Barbosa, JD, Kelly Bauer, BA, Samantha Glover, JD, Brigitte Granger, MS, Emily Kroshus, ScD, MPH, and Hyungi LeAnn Noh, MS. Kudos to another outstanding STRIPED cohort bringing their talents to bear on eating disorders prevention!
May 27, 2014
Congratulations to STRIPED doctoral student Allegra Gordon for receiving the Harvard School of Public Health 2013-14 Teaching Assistant Recognition Award, the school’s highest honor for outstanding teaching assistants. Stellar work, Allegra!
May 24, 2014
STRIPED Collaborating Mentor Kendrin Sonneville and Consulting Expert Michael Long taught STRIPED’s teaching case “‘The Governor Is Very Interested’: Or, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for School Health Screenings” to students enrolled in the Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program (GCSRT) on May 24th. Students in the GCSRT program hail from 22 nations around the world and are all faculty-level clinicians working in clinical research in their respective countries. The teaching case, developed by the STRIPED team, including Collaborating Mentor in Health Economics Mihail Samnaliev and Case Writer Eric Weinberger, combines learning objectives on eating disorders prevention with an introduction to principles of cost-effectiveness analysis. Check out this case and others from STRIPED here. The STRIPED teaching case development program is supported by the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Challenge Fund for Eating Disorders Research and U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau/HRSA training grant MC00001.
