By CYNTHIA BULIK 
Published: January 09, 2013

There’s no better way to start the year than with honoring new inductees into the Order of the Chocolate Fish. The first honors of the year go to Leanna Isserlin, MD. FRCPC and Lauren Metzger, MSW, LCSWA.

Dr. Isserlin has been with us for far too short of a time, but in the time that she has been here, she has been a wonderful addition to the team. A child psychiatrist by training, she has provided valued clinical leadership serving as the inpatient attending. She has also been a wonderful bridge between our research and clinical missions. She has enthusiastically supported research endeavors and helped us to further the understanding that only through research will we be able to continue to improve our understanding and treatment of eating disorders. We are deeply grateful for the skill, knowledge, and compassion she has brought to the program. This chocolate fish is bittersweet as Dr. Isserlin will be returning to Canada in February. We wish her all the best in her work “back home,” and look forward to meeting up with her at conferences in years to come.

The second Chocolate Fish goes to one of the most calmly effective people I have ever encountered and indeed an unsung hero of CEED. Lauren Metzger, MSW started withus as a VHP years ago, went off to get her MSW at Carolina, returned to help run the program administratively temporarily, and is now serving as a Research Associate to both the ANGI and the biomarkers projects (and so much more!). Moreover, Lauren is our blogmaster and indeed does a masterful job of commissioning and editing posts from all members of the team. The induction is not only for all that she does for the center, but also for the calm, competent, and effective way that she goes about doing whatever it is that she needs to do. Lauren is extremely, extremely competent, deeply knowledgeable about eating disorders, and uncannily able to get other people to do things in a timely fashion, all while exuding a sense of peace and patience.

The entire CEED team is deeply grateful for all that Leanna and Lauren have done for us. It is my honor and pleasure to induct both of them into the Order of the Chocolate Fish.

photo credit:  Gertrud K. via Creative Commons