Laura M. Thornton, PhD is the Deputy Director of the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI) and Associate Research Professor in the department of psychiatry. She has over 20 years of experience in survey design, data collection, analysis, and management of large-scale epidemiologic and community-based research. She has worked with many large scale studies such as the Swedish population registers, the China National Health Survey, and the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium for Anorexia Nervosa. Dr. Thornton’s primary research areas include genetic, phenotypic, and developmental aspects of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and obesity.Ultimately, the results of this research will translate to prevention and individualized treatment of eating disorders and obesity.