De Young
Eating Behaviors Research Laboratory
PERSONNEL
 Eating Behaviors Lab |  Graduate students |  |
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Director
Kyle De Young Ph.D.
I have a variety of research interests that try to take advantage of available resources and the interests of the current graduate students in my lab. Left to my own devices, I gravitate towards examining the bidirectional relation between biobehavioral circadian regulation and binge eating. I'm also fascinated by state-level moderators of the restraint-restriction link and how those moderators can be understood to facilitate healthy eating behavior and how they may also be the tools of restrictive eating disorders. Finally, I've had long-standing interests in characterizing the course of eating disorders, psychometrics, and latent variable modeling, particularly with intensive, longitudinal data.
Graduate Student Researchers
Chris Mancuso, M.S.
Clinical Graduate Student
I am a sixth year Clinical Psychology graduate student from Boston MA. I received by B.S. in Psychology from The University of Vermont. Following graduation, I began a clinical role at McLean Hospital as a residence counselor at the Klarman Eating Disorders Unit. I subsequently transitioned to a research role at Massachusetts General Hospital working as a coordinator on a multidisciplinary study examining the underlying biologic factors contributing to the development and maintenance of low-weight eating disorders. My current research interests include how hormonal factors, such as appetite regulating hormones, play a role in food choice across eating disorders. I spend a good majority of my time (happily) tending to my dog, Ravioli. When he and I are not playing chess and drinking coffee we enjoy hiking, rock climbing and skiing. And also being around other people and dogs.
Sam Bedard, M.S. (she/they)
Clinical Graduate Student
I am a fourth-year graduate student from Syracuse NY. I received my B.S. in Psychology & Human Development at the University at Albany, where I studied under the mentorship of Dr. Julia Hormes and Dr. Drew Anderson. After graduating, I moved to Louisville, KY to work as a Study Coordinator at the EAT Lab and Louisville Center for Eating Disorders. My research program in graduate school is broadly focused on biopsychosocial factors that might explain the occurrence of eating disorder psychopathology in the context of structural and social inequity. I am also interested in the development and evaluation of psychometric assessments. My NSF GRFP involves testing a chronobiological model of food insecurity and executive dysfunction among undergraduates. In my free time, I enjoy hiking in the Rockies, tending to my houseplants and two free-roaming rabbits, reading fiction, and (whenever possible), doing absolutely nothing.
Lindsay Gillikin, M.S. (she/her)
Clinical Graduate Student
I am a third-year Clinical Psychology graduate student. I received my B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies from Ohio State University. Following graduation, I worked as a Research Coordinator at Drexel University’s WELL Center for three years. My research interests focus on understanding mechanisms that maintain eating disorders among marginalized populations, particularly among the LGBTQ+ community. My NSF GRFP project aims to use an experimental paradigm to investigate whether minority stress processes cause binge-like eating behavior among sexual and gender minority young adults. In my free time I enjoy practicing yoga, figure skating, knitting, and being outside.
Lucy Wetherall, M.S. (she/her)
Clinical Graduate Student
I am a first-year graduate student from Northern California. I received my B.S. from Saint Mary’s College of California, where I majored in Psychology and minored in Women’s and Gender Studies. After graduation, I moved to Philadelphia, PA, and attended Drexel University, where I received my M.S. in psychology and worked as a research coordinator. My current research interests are focused on how internal factors, such as interoceptive awareness, are related to eating psychopathology. In my free time, I love to have fun doing creative activities like ceramics, sewing, and scrapbooking. I also love sitting down with a cup of tea and a good fiction book!
Undergraduate Student Researchers
Jaisley Mathes
Research Assistant
I am an undergraduate at the University of Wyoming set to graduate in 2026. I have always been extremely interested in eating disorders, why they occur, and how they are most effectively treated. I hope to someday enter the psychology field and treat eating disorders of all kinds, so when I ended up in Professor DeYoung's general psychology class, I jumped at the opportunity to join his lab. I have learned a lot and hope to keep learning and eventually use this knowledge to help people all over.
Carter Worcester
Research Assistant
I am currently a third-year student studying Psychology with minors in Honors and Philosophy. After graduating in 2026 I hope to pursue a master's degree in clinical psychology. Currently, my research interests center around psychophysiological measurements of stress and gender differences in emotional eating behaviors. The Eating Behaviors Lab has given me direct experience and insight into the research process, and I hope to use the knowledge I have gained to better myself and help others as I continue in my career. When I'm not in the lab, I enjoy playing chess, drinking hot drinks, sleeping, and ranting about fictional stories.
Brooke Studebaker
Research Assistant
I am from Parachute, Colorado and currently pursuing a degree in Psychology with a minor in Human Development & Family Sciences. I plan to graduate in the Spring of 2025 and take a year off before going to Grad school for counseling. I took an interest in psychology after having multiple experiences with counseling/therapy growing up. I wanted to be able to give others the same help my counselors gave me. I was drawn to the Eating Behaviors Lab after taking Health Psychology from Chris Mancuso and hearing him talk about the lab. I think eating disorders are a very important subfield of mental health that I wanted to learn more about. In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my Blue Heeler/Cattle Dog mix, Ed, as well as hanging out with my friends, sleeping, and playing video games on my Xbox and PlayStation.
Abbie Krolikowski
Research Assistant
​I am from Hudson Massachusetts and am currently in my senior year studying psychology. I first began studying nursing at Laramie County Community College before discovering my love for psychology and switching my major. I have always been incredibly interested in biology and the human body, as well as behavior. I’ve always wanted to enter a field where I can help people in some way and engage in research. I was drawn to the eating behaviors lab to get more hands-on experience working with research participants and to work with rodent models. I have loved every second of it and now want to study eating behaviors in the future in graduate school. I will be starting the master's in the social work program at UW in the summer of 2025. In the future I want to become a licensed clinical social worker and work as a therapist before going on to work on my PhD in Clinical psychology. I want to become a queer affirming therapist/practitioner in rural Wyoming. In my free time I love cooking and baking, playing video games, and playing with my hairless cat.
Sydni Bilyeu
Research Assistant
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Emma Peterson
Research Assistant
I am a sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Honors. I’m from Casper, Wyoming, and am so happy to be where I’m at right now studying psychology at UW. I have always been very interested in understanding how humans work, how we feel, and why. I chose psychology because I wanted to be able to increase that understanding. The Eating Behaviors Lab has given me the opportunity to understand more about what a future in psychology could look like and get hands-on experience with research. It’s a fun and engaging environment. Right now, I hope to go to grad school after completing my undergraduate degree and see what my next steps are from there. In my free time, I love to spend time outside (skiing, hiking, etc.), journal, and play the piano.
Lab Alumni
Mary Zander, Ph.D.
Terra Towne, Ph.D.
Erin Mertha-Berg, Ph.D.
Ali Thiel, Ph.D.
Nicole Della Longa, Ph.D.
Angeline Bottera, Ph.D.
Evelyna Kambanis, Ph.D.
Taylor Perry
Nicole Johnson
Krystal Badillo
Lindsey Hovrud
Sean Batenhorst
Elianna Paninos
Jackie Ralph
Zoe Stone
Piper Thompson
Chloe Nelson
Mikayla Rodrigues
Ashlee Jensen
Alyssa Jordan
Emma Gulkin
Torin Rueter
Elena Harmon
Hannah Linford
Sheldon Parker
Rebecca Lockhart
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