By SUSAN C. KLEIMAN
Published: December 19, 2013

The UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (CEED) is home to an NIH T32 Postdoctoral Training in Eating Disorders program, and we are excited to introduce you to our two newest fellows.

Kristin Javaras is a familiar face around the Bulik lab, having joined us last year for a clinical internship while completing her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The opportunity to learn from people doing excellent work as eating disorder clinicians and researchers kept her in North Carolina, and she plans to use her training to help improve interventions for eating disorders and obesity. A native of Chicago, Kristin spent her undergraduate years at Harvard, crossed the Atlantic for a PhD in Statistics at Oxford, and then returned to the Harvard School of Public Health and McLean Hospital for postdoctoral training in psychiatric biostatistics and epidemiology. In order to ensure that her research was relevant to patient problems and to be more directly involved in eating disorder treatment, she then ventured to Wisconsin for her clinical training. Outside the lab, Kristin enjoys independent films, hiking, and catching up on Scandal, Downton Abbey, and Homeland. She spends as much time outside as possible, especially in the winter (thanks to years of living in Wisconsin!), and is always planning her next international vacation. Kristin’s cat, Tupelo, is infamous among her colleagues for his diabolic tendencies, but little does he know, a puppy sibling may soon be joining the family.

Zeynep Yilmaz came to UNC CEED this fall after completing her PhD in Neurogenetics at the University of Toronto. She was born in the U.S. but raised in Izmir, Turkey, where—unbeknownst to us—she trained until age 16 to be an opera singer! Zeynep first moved to Toronto for her undergraduate degree in psychology and worked for four year as a research coordinator for eating disorder studies at Toronto General Hospital before beginning graduate school. The Bulik lab’s reputation and research track record drew her to North Carolina, as well as the opportunity to work jointly with the Sullivan lab, providing the ideal environment for studying the genetic etiology of eating disorders. Zeynep is very passionate about her research and plans to stay in academia long-term doing genomic work on eating disorders. She is also enjoying the opportunity to explore the Durham-Chapel Hill area, and is looking forward to trying new restaurants and taking advantage of the local performing arts scene. Zeynep is quite skilled in the kitchen and is particularly well known for her Grand Marnier French toast, chewy marshmallow brownies, and wild mushroom and caramelized onion pizza. You can follow Zeynep online through her blog and on Twitter.

photo credit: (nz)dave via Creative Commons