Our overall research program is aimed at identifying the roles of various neural signaling pathways in the controls of food intake and body weight and how these systems go awry in obesity and eating disorders.  Research in my laboratory has largely focused on the neuroendocrinology of obesity and eating disorders, with an emphasis on the relationship between feeding related neuroendocrine sytstem, stress, and anxiety. Specific projects have focused on (1) how specific dietary macronutrients influence hunger and satiety signals in the brain and gut, (2) dietary influence on the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and neuroinflammation, (3) dietary influence on learning and memory, and (4) an animal model of anorexia nervosa to elucidate relationships between experiencing anorexia nervosa in adolescence and chronic anxiety.