2024
President
Linda Booij, PhD (Montreal, Quebec)
Dr. Linda Booij is Head of Research and Academic Development of the Eating Disorders Continuum at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, and a Full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Leiden University, the Netherlands, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University. At the Douglas’ Eating Disorders Continuum, Dr. Booij works as a clinician and leads a research program that focuses on the biopsychosocial pathways of eating disorders. The research includes studies on the neurobiology of eating disorders (genetics, epigenetics, brain processes), biopsychosocial predictors and trajectories of treatment response, development of virtual interventions, and effectiveness of knowledge transfer initiatives.
PAST President
Jennifer Coelho, PhD (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Dr. Jennifer Coelho is a Psychologist in the Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program for Children and Adolescents at BC Children’s Hospital, Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. She is a clinician and a researcher, and provides evidence-based therapies for eating disorders. Her research focuses on factors that are involved in the development and maintenance of eating disorders, and how to improve treatment outcomes in children and youth with eating disorders. She strives to integrate and apply her research findings to improve clinical care for youth and their families. Dr. Coelho brings an international perspective to her work, having previously trained and worked in Europe (including the Netherlands and France) and Australia. Details of Dr. Coelho’s publications are available on Research Gate and Google Scholar.
PRESIDENT ELECT
Gisele Marcoux-Louie, MSc (Calgary, Alberta)
Gisele Marcoux-Louie has been the research and evaluation analyst with the Eating Disorder Program in Calgary, Alberta since 2007 and is responsible for coordinating the collection and reporting of program and patient outcomes. She is also an adjunct associate professor of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. Gisele received her BA in Psychology with a minor in Communications from the University of Calgary and then completed her MSc in Public Health through the University of Alberta while she played a lead role in developing and validating the Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS). Gisele advocates for the use of program data to inform clinical practice and seeks opportunities to improve program access and efficiencies. She has in-depth expertise in EDs but has also conducted and assisted research with broader health and mental health populations.
SECRETARY TREASURER
Emily To, MS, RD (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Emily To is the Clinical Operations Manager at Looking Glass Residence, a residential eating disorder treatment program for youth and young adults at BC Children’s Hospital. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders since 2013, and has facilitated practice based workshops for eating disorder clinicians provincially and nationally. Emily has a Master’s of Science in Nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian. Her interests include program development and discovering new and innovative ways to provide client centered care.
Directors-at-Large
Gina Dimitropoulos, PhD (Calgary, Alberta)
Dr. Gina Dimitropoulos is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, and is cross appointed with the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating evidence-based treatments for adolescents and emerging adults with eating disorders, examining the transitions in care for individuals transferring from pediatric to adult care, and assessing treatment fidelity and therapeutic alliance in Family Based Treatment (FBT). She most recently pioneered an adaptation to FBT for transition age youth (age 17-21). More recently, Dr. Dimitropoulos’ work focuses on capturing the experiences of FBT clinicians working with diverse families of varying races, ethnicities, cultures, religious affiliations, socioeconomic status, family history, Indigeneity, and sexual/gender classifications. She is a recognized expert in qualitative and mixed methods research, and is frequently called upon as a key investigator for various implementation science projects in eating disorders.
Stephanie Cassin, PhD (Toronto, Ontario)
Stephanie Cassin is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Ryerson University and Director of the Healthy Eating and Lifestyle (HEAL) Lab. In addition, she holds a faculty appointment at the University of Toronto (Department of Psychiatry) and is a member of the University Health Network Centre for Mental Health. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Calgary and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto / Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Cassin is a Registered Clinical and Health Psychologist, and her clinical and research interests are in the area of disordered eating, obesity, and bariatric (weight loss) surgery. Her current program of research focuses primarily on psychosocial predictors of bariatric surgery outcome, and psychosocial interventions with the potential to improve outcomes, including cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing. She also investigates health care innovations that increase treatment accessibility and regularly provides training in evidence-based treatments for disordered eating.