Dr. Maria La Via, Medical Director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program was honored with a listing in the Best Doctors in America 2009-2010. Dr. La Via received her BS in Biochemistry from Michigan State University and completed medical school and her residency and child psychiatry fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Dr. La Via worked at the Center for Overcoming Problem Eating at the University of Pittsburgh between 1996-2005 and we were ecstatic when she joined the UNC Eating Disorders team in 2005.

On any given day Dr. La Via can be seen on the inpatient unit, the partial hospitalization program, doing physicals and check-ups for clinical trials, drawing blood for genetic research, and talking with parents and family members. She is enormously dedicated to her work and her patients and understands the treatment of eating disorders as well as anyone on the planet. She’s a straight-shooter, a clear thinker, a wonderful mentor, and a compassionate physician. We’re lucky to have her and it is clear to all of us why she was chosen as one of the Best Doctors in America! Congratulations to Dr. La Via!