New paper! Among Iranian adolescents, internalized weight stigma predicted lower body trust, and experience weight stigma and suicidal ideation exhibited reciprocal relations over time: doi.org/10.1002/jclp...

Weight Stigma, Body Trust, and Suicide Ideation Among Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death, with rates rising during adolescence. In the United States, suicide deaths rose among 15–24-year-olds and more than doubled among 10–14-year-olds from 20....

doi.org

OSFED is notoriously difficult to diagnose, so @ryleelusich.bsky.social developed a diagnostic flowchart to make the process clearer and more consistent across clinical and research settings. There are 50 free copies available! Get yours now! doi.org/10.1080/1064...

Improving the diagnosis of OSFED across clinical and research settings: the development of a diagnostic flowchart

Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED) has the highest prevalence of any eating disorder (ED), yet limited resources are available to help clinicians and researchers reliably different...

doi.org

Are you passionate about eating disorders and/or suicide? Do you like red pandas?! If yes to all—or at least the first—we’ll be recruiting clinical PhD students this cycle for the REDS Lab at Auburn University, under the mentorship of @aprilrosesmith.bsky.social We’d love for you to apply!

Newest crew ready to fight against #weightstigma!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 3w ago

So excited to introduce the newest Body Advocacy Movement peer leaders, all trained by @laurenpictor.bsky.social!

Exciting work from @laurenharris.bsky.social, in collab with @uofleatlab.bsky.social, finds that within Anorexia Nervosa Spectrum Disorders, alterations in HRV are accompanied by differences in interoceptive sensibility at the trait, but not state, level" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The Relationship Between Heart Rate Variability and Interoception in Anorexia Nervosa Spectrum Disorders

Objective Restrictive eating disorders are characterized by abnormalities in both HRV and interoception, yet the extent to which transient physiological changes are related to interoceptive sensibil...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

So excited for our newest REDS Lab PhDs, Dr. @taylorbstanley.bsky.social and Dr. Will Grunewald! War Eagle! 🦅

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · last mo.

Huge congratulations to Drs. @taylorbstanley.bsky.social and Will Grunewald--my 1st AU students to hood! Taylor is postdocing at UF, and Will is postdocing at Auburn/SDSU with Drs. Brown & Blashill. So proud of you both and excited for what’s ahead! War Eagle!

Congrats to @laurenpictor.bsky.social on her exciting new study, published in Body Image!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What if social media changes how we see our bodies AND how we feel them? @laurenpictor.bsky.social found that among college students, reduced interoception may be one mechanism linking appearance related social media consciousness to restrictive eating: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

If you prefer visual media, you can hear about our new study on maturity fears across cohorts and decades with @keel-lab-fsu.bsky.social on @dtcooper.bsky.social here! www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzXd...

Your Fear of Aging

YouTube video by The Last Show with David Cooper

youtube.com

Are Millennials more afraid of growing up than prior cohorts? Find out here!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Loved getting to talk with @dtcooper.bsky.social about our new study on maturity fears across cohorts and decades, check it out here: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t...

Excited to share this invited commentary from @aprilrosesmith.bsky.social on a new meta-analysis examining interoception and self-harm!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Really honored to be invited to write this Nature commentary on Liu et al.'s great new meta-analysis on interoception and self-harm. The findings highlight that it's not just whether we detect bodily signals, but how we interpret and trust them, that may matter most for suicide risk. rdcu.be/frs9A

Millennials feared adulthood more than earlier cohorts...but it turns out everyone gets less afraid of growing up over time. Check out our new work with @keel-lab-fsu.bsky.social that tracks maturity fears across 3 cohorts: www.usnews.com/news/health-...

Congrats to @drtiffanyabrown.bsky.social and @aprilrosesmith.bsky.social on becoming Fellows in the Academy of Eating Disorders!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 3mo ago

So honored to receive Fellow status from the Academy of Eating Disorders along with this fabulous group! @drtiffanyabrown.bsky.social

Getting to catch up with current and former REDS labers in The Hague at #ICED2026 was the best part of the conference!

So wonderful to see the amazing work our REDS labers @carterjillian.bsky.social @oclancy.bsky.social @laurenpictor.bsky.social @mbillmanmiller.bsky.social presented at #ICED2026!

We adapted our interoception intervention for eating disorders and found that it was associated with decreases in interoceptive deficits within an intensive ED sample. Check it out!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Excited about this! Interoceptive dysfunction is an established risk & maintenance factor for eating disorders, but few interventions target it. In our pilot, RISE-ED was feasible & acceptable in intensive tx and was associated w/ reduced interoceptive deficits: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Thrilled to have presented a poster this afternoon at #ICED2026 in The Netherlands … my first ICED has been a blast! Grateful for the best mentor and labmates! 💙🧡 @aprilrosesmith.bsky.social @redslabauburn.bsky.social

Let's us know if you'll be at #ICED2026; we'd love to see you!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Getting excited about #ICED2026! Will you be there? Let us know!

@carterjillian.bsky.social just rocked out her thesis proposal! Can't wait to see what she finds!

We were honored to get to present our work with collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research West.

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 5mo ago

So wonderful to finally meet my WRAIR-W collaborators in person after 4+ years of working together on our interoceptive awareness intervention for military service members. Truly honored to receive this challenge coin.

Dr. Smith got to visit our lab mascot at the Woodlands Zoo in Seattle!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Got to visit the red pandas at the Seattle zoo and picked up the best shirt ever.

HUGE congratulations to @oclancy.bsky.social on being recognized as an Outstanding Doctoral Student at Auburn!

Congrats to @carterjillian.bsky.social on successfully proposing her thesis!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 5mo ago

@carterjillian.bsky.social just rocked out her thesis proposal! Can't wait to see what she finds!

Really enjoyed talking about The Great Starvation Experiment as part of our lab group's semesterly Book Club. And big thanks to Kate and @carterjillian.bsky.social for the delicious treats!!

New paper from @mbillmanmiller.bsky.social finds in TGE adults, eating disorder symptoms relate to suicidal ideation through perceived social exclusion specifically (vs belongingness or burdensomeness). Check it out! dx.doi.org/10.1111/sltb...

Interpersonal Needs and the Relation Between Eating Disorder Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation Among Transgender and Gender Expansive Adults

Background Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) individuals report elevated rates of eating disorder (ED) symptoms and suicidal ideation (SI). ED symptoms may contribute to SI via impairments in i...

dx.doi.org

WAY TO GO @oclancy.bsky.social !!!!

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 6mo ago

So thrilled for @oclancy.bsky.social, who was just awarded the Auburn University Outstanding Doctoral Student award! Congratulations on this well deserved recognition, Liv!

I could not be more proud of my supervisees, Rachel and Kristin, for penning this incredible op-ed piece about increasing Auburn University's funding of the Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic: aub.ie/oyfdWL. Give it a read, it is 🔥🔥🔥

REDS laber @carterjillian.bsky.social presented her work at SEPA in NOLA this past week!

When employees experience weight discrimination, it doesn’t just affect outcomes, it also affects whether they feel heard and taken seriously. New research from AU highlights emotion invalidation as a key mechanism linking stigma to workplace harm. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Social pain minimization mediates weight discrimination’s effects on interpersonal well-being in the workplace - Brielle N. Johnson, Gargi Sawhney, Jonathan W. Kunstman, 2026

Workplace weight discrimination is pervasive and negatively impacts employees and organizations. Yet, little is known about the psychological processes linking ...

journals.sagepub.com

Me at 8. Years later, my dream of opening an eating disorders clinic came true. At the AEDC, we are expanding access to care & training the next generation of therapists. We have 1 MORE DAY to reach our fundraising goal. If you’re able to support/share, it truly makes a difference: aub.ie/26TGDAEDC

The Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic provides low-cost, evidence-based care while training future clinical psychologists. Demand remains high, with a 3+ month waitlist. Support expands access to care & training the next generation: aub.ie/26TGDAEDC

Improve Eating Disorder Care Access - Tiger Giving Day

This Tiger Giving Day, the Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic (AEDC) is raising $10,000 to fund a graduate student clinician-in-training who will provide life-changing care to children and families who mi...

aub.ie

April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Dear Friends & Colleagues, reaching out about a cause close to my heart. I co-direct a nonprofit clinic providing affordable eating disorder care across AL. We’re fundraising through 3/25 to sustain care & expand scholarships. If you’re able to give or share, I’d be so grateful: aub.ie/26TGDAEDC