Laurel S. Mayer, MD

Dr. Mayer's research interests include body composition, metabolic rate and neuroendocrine changes in women with anorexia nervosa. She is currently exploring the pattern of body fat distribution during weight normalization in women undergoing treatment for anorexia nervosa.

• Exploring the potential biological correlates of weight suppression (the difference between one’s lifetime and current weight) in order to test the hypothesis that higher levels of weight suppression and currently being on a diet to lose weight, will be independently associated with lower resting metabolic rate and lower levels of metabolic (e.g. thyroid), reproductive (e.g., estrogen) and appetitive (e.g., leptin) hormone levels among women with bulimia nervosa.

• Exploring the potential influence of the FTO gene on eating behavior and fronto-striatal brain circuits in healthy, normal weight kids, in order to examine whether risk factors for later weight gain are identifiable prior to the onset of obesity. Healthy kids undergo a number of procedures, including functional MRI and a laboratory lunch meal. Weight trajectories are then followed for two years after baseline participation.

• Determining the utility of short-term residential laboratory-based measures in predicting the longer-term effects of pharmacologic agents in promoting weight loss. Using a series of eating behavior, psychological and neurocognitive (including neuroimaging) assessments, we evaluate whether drug-placebo differences exist on these tasks, and whether the magnitude of these drug-placebo difference are predictive of treatment (weight loss) outcome.

• Using sophisticated eating behavior paradigms to measure the influence of dietary macronutrients (e.g. low carb compared to standard American) on intake and energy expenditure.

• To better understand the weight gain and related metabolic side effects of second-generation antipsychotics, in collaboration with the Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research team, we are using the laboratory multiple-item meal paradigm to investigate changes in food intake, macronutrient distribution, and pre- and post-meal, self-reported hunger and satiety in participants randomized to placebo, iloperidone or olanzapine at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks of medication treatment.