# Towards an etiological model of adolescent eating disorders through neuroimaging, genetics, and behavior

> **NIH NIH K99** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2024 · $62,480

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Eating Disorders (EDs) are bound together by their severe health consequences and often intractable course
for affected individuals, which can only be ameliorated through a better understanding of ED etiology. Studies
have typically focused on separate diagnostic categories (e.g., anorexia/bulimia nervosa, binge eating
disorder), despite evidence for genetic and symptom overlap across diagnoses. Further, there is a need to
examine EDs before and during their peak onset in adolescence, given the dynamic neurodevelopmental
changes characterizing this period. This project uses a transdiagnostic and multimodal approach, leveraging
large-scale longitudinal data collection from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study to
prospectively identify genetic, neuroimaging, and behavioral measures that may be predictive of an ED in
adolescence. A sample of adolescent girls being treated for an ED will also be included for clinical
generalizability. Aim 1 (K99 phase) will identify behavioral and neuroimaging-derived correlates of EDs across
both ABCD (ages 11-14) and clinical (ages 13-18) datasets, using sophisticated neuroimaging methods to
parse through potential morphological and microstructural predictors of adolescent EDs. Aim 2 (R00 phase)
will expand its study design to include genomic (polygenic risk for EDs and related conditions) and longitudinal
behavioral and brain imaging data (ages 9 to 17) to inform a predictive model of the emergence of an ED in
adolescence, and the impact of these discovered predictors in a clinical setting (ages 14-19). This project’s
strategic utilization of ABCD Study data holds an unparalleled opportunity to uncover the etiological factors of
an ED across both males and females using prospective longitudinal multi-site data, a research endeavour that
otherwise would be extremely difficult and costly to initiate from scratch. Moreover, the inclusion of a clinical
dataset allows for a rare but much-needed investigation of the generalizability of results from a sub-clinical to
more severely ill patient sample. This project will also apply innovative methodologies, including the integration
of polygenic risk scoring across diverse participants, alongside sophisticated neuroimaging techniques allowing
for quantification of whole-brain microstructural features that may provide additional sensitivity in detecting
predictive factors of an adolescent ED. Dr. Makowski’s proposed training plan, including training in ED
research and machine learning methods, will enhance her existing skillset in psychiatric neuroimaging and
genomics. The chosen mentorship team will add the necessary expertise and support that will facilitate Dr.
Makowski’s transition to an independent research position, including additional training in ED research
(mentor: Dr. Wierenga; collaborators: Dr’s Bischoff-Grethe, Fennema-Notestine), neuroimaging and genomics
integration (co-mentor: Dr. Dale), neurodevelopment (collabora...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10830462
- **Project number:** 5K99MH132886-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Carolina Makowski
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $62,480
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10830462

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10830462, Towards an etiological model of adolescent eating disorders through neuroimaging, genetics, and behavior (5K99MH132886-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10830462. Licensed CC0.

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