Department / Division:
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences / Medical Psychology

Address:
DUMC 3842
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone:
919-668-7301

Office Telephone:
919-668-2281

Fax Telephone:
919-681-7347

• PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2000

• Duke University Medical Center, 1999-2000

• National Institute of Health Training Fellowship

• Behavioral Medicine

Clinical Interests:
Research laboratory focused on the development of novel treatments for individuals with eating disorders or children who struggle with weight management with particular focus in the integration of family members into effective treatment strategies

Research Interests:
My research focuses on development of treatment interventions for individuals with an eating disorder with an emphasis on strategies that improve interpersonal functioning. For example, my laboratory is testing an intervention to maximize the effectiveness of parents in the management of their child's anorexia nervosa. The basic research I am pursuing in this area involves understanding the neurocognitive correlates of social information processing so deficits in these domains can be characterized and addressed in subsequent intervention development. In this particular project, we are examining social cognitive deficits in individuals with anorexia nervosa relative to the pattern of deficits described in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. This work we are doing in collaboration with the Neurodevelopmental Research Center at UNC. More recently, my lab is working on metabolic risk factors for the development of anorexia nervosa by studying children of women with a current or former eating disorder. Finally, we are examining the relative position of anorexia nervosa within the obsessive compulsive spectrum by examining neuropsychological profiles of executive functioning across individuals with anorexia nervosa, Trichotillomania, or obessive compulsive disorder.

Representative Publications:
Zucker, N.L., Marcus, M., & Bulik, C. (2006). A group parent-training program: A novel approach to eating disorder management. Eating and Weight Disorders, 11, 78-83. (2006)

Mazzeo SE, Zucker NL, Gerke CK, Mitchell KS, Bulik CM. Parenting concerns of women with histories of eating disorders. Int J Eat Disord. 2005;37 Suppl:S77-9; discussion S87-9. (2005) Abstract

Zucker, N.L., Ferriter, C., Best, S., & Brantley, A. (in press). Group Parent Training: A Novel Approach for Eating Disorder Treatment. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention.

Varnado-Sullivan, P.J. & Zucker, N. L. (2004). The Body Logic Program for Adolescents: A Treatment Manual for the Prevention of Eating Disorders. Behavior Modification, 28, 854-875.
(2004)

Womble LG, Williamson DA, Martin CK, Zucker NL, Thaw JM, Netemeyer R, Lovejoy JC, Greenway FL. Psychosocial variables associated with binge eating in obese males and females. Int J Eat Disord. 2001 Sep;30(2):217-21. (2001) Abstract

Williamson DA, Womble LG, Zucker NL, Reas DL, White MA, Blouin DC, Greenway F. Body image assessment for obesity (BIA-O): development of a new procedure. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Oct;24(10):1326-32. (2000) Abstract

Reas DL, Williamson DA, Martin CK, Zucker NL. Duration of illness predicts outcome for bulimia nervosa: a long-term follow-up study. Int J Eat Disord. 2000 May;27(4):428-34. (2000) Abstract

Zucker, N.L., Losh, M., Bulik, C.M., Labar, K.S., Piven, J., & Pelphrey, K.A. (in press). Anorexia Nervosa and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Guided Investigation of Social Cognitive Endophenotypes, Psychological Bulletin.