Research on Eating Disorders & Suicidality Lab
@redslabauburn.bsky.social
The REDS Lab at Auburn University examines disordered eating and suicidal behaviors. Fans of Red Pandas. Account run by Dr. April Smith and her graduate students.
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
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 · last mo.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-...
usnews.com
Congrats to @drtiffanyabrown.bsky.social and @aprilrosesmith.bsky.social on becoming Fellows in the Academy of Eating Disorders!
April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 2mo agoSo 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 · 2mo agoExcited 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
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 · 3mo agoSo 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 · 3mo agoGot 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!
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
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 🔥🔥🔥
aub.ie
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 · 5mo agoDear 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
We’re excited to see this feature on our low-cost eating disorders clinic. The creation of this clinic reflects our commitment to increasing access to care for students and the broader community. Take a look: www.theplainsman.com/article/2026... More soon with Giving Day on March 25.
Making care accessible: Inside Auburn’s low-cost eating disorder clinic - The Auburn Plainsman
Auburn Eating Disorders Clinic (AEDC), the newest clinic at the Psychological Services Center, is expanding access to mental health care by providing empirically based, low-cost treatment for a d...
theplainsman.com
April Smith, PhD@aprilrosesmith.bsky.social · 5mo agoAccess to eating disorder care shouldn’t depend on ability to pay. We opened a low-cost clinic at Auburn to help close that gap. I'm grateful for this feature highlighting the work: www.theplainsman.com/article/2026... More to come with Giving Day on March 25.
In case you didn't know, I have the best lab ever. Here they are surprising me with cake pops. I'm so thankful to get to work with them every day, including my birthday. Thank you, REDS lab!
First Body Advocacy Movement (BAM) group of the semester was a great success thanks to @laurenpictor.bsky.social's leadership!
HUGE congrats to @laurenharris.bsky.social on submitting her K23, "Glycemic variability and interoceptive attention as proximal predictors of eating disorder symptoms in Anorexia Nervosa and Atypical Anorexia"!!!
a man in a black sweater is smiling with #schitts creek written on the bottom right
ALT: a man in a black sweater is smiling with #schitts creek written on the bottom right
media.tenor.com
Wow. No evidence of improved outcomes for the treatment of bulimia or binge eating disorder over the past FOUR decades. We must do better. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Four Decades of Psychological Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa and Binge‐Eating Disorder: A Meta‐Regression of Changes in Abstinence Rates Over Time
Objective Earlier meta-analyses showing low rates of abstinence in treatments for bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED) have spurred growing efforts to improve outcomes. In response, ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
In better news: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u... Although I wish this had happened sooner, I'm beyond grateful the protection is finally there.
Suicides Were Frequent at the Golden Gate Bridge. Not Anymore.
nytimes.com
