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King’s People

Biography

UIrike is the Professor of Eating Disorders and Director of the Centre for Research on Eating and Weight Disorders at King’s College London. She is also a Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. She leads the Eating Disorders and Obesity Theme in the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre.

She works to understand fundamental biology and psychological determinants of eating and weight disorders, including obesity. Her research includes multiple trials of new treatments and led to the development of MANTRA, a NICE-recommended psychotherapy for people with anorexia nervosa.

She has also led the development and research on FREED, a multi-award winning early intervention programme for young people with eating disorders, rolled out nationally in England.

Ulrike has also pioneered the use of novel brain-directed treatments in eating disorders. She leads the large UKRI-funded EDIFY consortium on early intervention for eating disorders. She is Co-Director of the Health Education England National Eating Disorders Whole Team Training and MANTRA Training Courses.

Ulrike has led/contributed to multiple national and international initiatives to improve eating disorders policy and practice. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including an NIHR Senior Investigator Award, and the Academy for Eating Disorders Leadership Award for Research (2021).

Expertise and Public Engagement 

  • Steering Group member MRC Eating Disorders Research workshop (2022)
  • Contribution as expert witness to All Party Parliamentary Group report on research in eating disorders (2021)
  • Clinical Advisory group member - Beat - ongoing
  • Expert reference group member for National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Commissioning Guide for Adult Eating disorder services (2018) and associated curriculum development (2019)

Research Interests

  • Prevention and early intervention of eating disorders
  • Technology-based interventions for eating disorders
  • Non-invasive neuromodulation approaches to treatment of eating disorders