24 February 2026
The EDIFY consortium – Eating Disorders: Delineating illness and recovery trajectories to inform personalised prevention and early intervention in young people (EDIFY) – is a four-year programme of research focussed on how we understand and treat eating disorders in young people.
The EDIFY consortium – Eating Disorders: Delineating illness and recovery trajectories to inform personalised prevention and early intervention in young people (EDIFY) – is a four-year programme of research focussed on how we understand and treat eating disorders in young people.
Led by Professor Ulrike Schmidt OBE, in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the IoPPN and Dr Helen Sharpe, University of Edinburgh, the EDIFY team have taken an interdisciplinary approach, with workstreams spanning projects in the arts and humanities right through to ground-breaking scientific research in informatics and neuroscience.
As part of the EDIFY programme, and with support from King’s Culture, the team ran an Artists-in-Residence scheme, supporting four artists to work collaboratively with researchers and clinicians based at King’s and partner universities across the UK. Over the course of a year, artist Zofia Chamenia, Maeve Magnolia Gillespie, Sian Fan and Ivana Picek worked with researchers to produce a creative output for a wide range of audiences, particularly young people aged 16-25. Each residency explored a core theme in EDIFY, including lived experience, resilience, recovery, prevention and early intervention, with particular attention to under-served groups.
Together the works highlighted the power of art and creativity in expressing messages of hope and recovery for young people with eating disorders.
To coincide with the end-of-project conference, which took place at Strand Campus in January, the artists’ work was presented in a pop-up exhibition in the Inigo Rooms, Somerset House – EDIFY: Stories in Shape & Sound – alongside a discussion event with the artists.
Bringing the artists into EDIFY has enriched our programme immeasurably. It has facilitated novel perspectives on advancing and communicating eating disorders research and lived experience that are hopeful, youth- and recovery-focused
Ulrike Schmidt, Professor of Eating Disorders
As part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the team are presenting a film screening and discussion, on Thursday 26 February at the IoPPN, Denmark Hill Campus, telling the tale behind the artists residencies:
Communicating Eating Disorders Experiences and Research Through Art
Thursday 26 February | 17:30 – 18:30 | Wolfson Lecture Theatre, IoPPN Main Building, Denmark Hill
The short film, created and produced by Common Films, follows the four EDIFY Artists in Residence through the process of creating their finished works.
This screening event will also include a discussion about the artistic and filmmaking process, an opportunity to ask questions of the EDIFY team, and a chance to explore the artworks themselves.
This event is open to all.
To learn more about the EDIFY project visit https://edifyresearch.co.uk/
Professor of Eating Disorders
Materials, Shapes, Sounds and Stories of EDIFY Artists in Residence.
