Karen S. Mitchell, PhD

Clinical Research Psychologist

Women's Health Sciences Division

See staff directory for contact information.

Academic Affiliation

• Boston University School of Medicine, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Education

• Louis Stokes Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Predoctoral Internship, 2009
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Counseling Psychology, PhD, 2009
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Counseling Psychology, MS, 2005
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Psychology, BS, 2002

Expertise and Interests

• Comorbidity of eating disorders, obesity, and PTSD
• Etiology and prevention of eating disorders, obesity, and PTSD, particularly regarding the interplay of genetic and environmental factors
• Statistical genetics, including novel approaches to gene association and network analysis
• Quantitative methodology, particularly structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling
• Complementary and alternative treatment approaches to PTSD and eating disorders

Membership in Professional Societies

• Academy for Eating Disorders

Awards and Honors

• Kenneth S. Kendler Award for Excellence in Predoctoral Studies, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics
• Counseling Psychology Student of the Year, Virginia Commonwealth University

Selected Publications

Iverson, K.M., Dick, A., McLaughlin, K.A., Smith, B.N., Bell, M.E., Cook, N., Gerber, M.R., & Mitchell, K.S. (in press). Exposure to interpersonal violence and its associations with psychiatric morbidity in a U.S. national sample: A gender comparison. Psychology of Violence.

Mitchell, K.S., Mazzeo, S.E., Schlesinger, M.R., Brewerton, T.D., & Smith, B.N. (2012). Comorbidity of partial and subthreshold PTSD among men and women with eating disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey-Replication study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45, 307-315. PILOTS ID: 37450

Mitchell, K.S., Wells, S., Mendes, A., & Resick, P. (2012). Treatment improves symptoms shared by PTSD and disordered eating. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25, 535-542. PILOTS ID: 87062

Mitchell, K.S., Neale, M.C., Bulik, C.M., Lowe, M., Maes, H.H., Kendler, K.S., & Mazzeo, S.M. (2011). An investigation of weight suppression in a population-based sample of female twins. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 44, 44-49.

Mitchell, K.S., Neale, M.C., Bulik, C.M., Aggen, S.H., Kendler, K.S., & Mazzeo, S.E. (2010). Binge eating disorder: A symptom-level investigation of genetic and environmental influences on liability. Psychological Medicine, 40, 1899-1906.

Members of the press interested in contacting this staff member to schedule an interview should reach out to the Division contact for the press.