Weight and Eating Lab

Lab Members

Dr. Shannon L. Zaitsoff, Ph.D., R. Psych., WEL Director

Dr. Zaitsoff is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University. She conducts research on the prevention and treatment of eating and weight disorders. Dr. Zaitsoff completed her Ph.D. in Child Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor, and her clinical internship at the University of Chicago, under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Le Grange. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Program for Obesity, Weight, and Eating Research at Yale University. Dr. Zaitsoff has specialized training in treatments for children, adolescents, adults, and families struggling with eating and weight disorders. Specifically, she has expertise in Family-Based Treatment (i.e., the Maudsley approach), Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, and Behavioural Weight Loss. Her current research projects examine the importance of family meals in relation to healthy eating and weight practices and the role of the patient-therapist relationship in family-based treatments for adolescents with eating disorders.

Rachelle Pullmer, M.A., WEL Graduate Student

Rachelle is a first year doctoral student in the General-Clinical stream. Broadly speaking, she is interested in the field of behavioural medicine, and the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Her Master’s thesis involved a longitudinal examination of the role that healthy eating and physical activity habits play in predicting body satisfaction during pregnancy. For her doctoral dissertation, she will be conducting an Internet-based intervention that will test the efficacy of habit formation techniques (i.e., if-then plans and mental practice) for binge-eating disorder. This research is funded through the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Further information on Rachelle and her program of research can be found at: https://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/blog/year/2015/09/RachellePullmer.html

MacKenzie Robertson, WEL Lab Coordinator

MacKenzie has recently completed her B.A. (Hons) at Simon Fraser University in April 2015. Her primary research interests relate to the role that the media, social media, family and peer relationships, and societal norms play in producing and maintaining disordered eating and non-suicidal self-injury. She plans to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.

*We are currently recruiting new research assistants for the 2016-2017 academic year*