The EAT Laboratory

Asking what works, for whom, and when.

The Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Laboratory at the University of Louisville is a national hub for innovation in precision mental health - integrating clinical psychology, network science, machine learning, wearable technology, and implementation science to develop personalized treatments for eating disorders, anxiety, and OCD.

Research partnerships Publications
$20.2M
Total Funded
Portfolio
NIH R01
Awards
2
NIH R34
Clinical Trials
DP2
NIH Director's
New Innovator Award
Focus Areas

What we study.

01
Precision Mental Health

Personalized treatment algorithms.

Identifying individualized treatment targets and developing methods for matching patients to optimal interventions using dynamic modeling and intensive longitudinal data - moving beyond one-size-fits-all care.

02
Network Science

Symptoms as dynamic systems.

Applying network analysis to understand how symptoms interact, reinforce one another, and respond to intervention - providing a powerful framework for identifying patient-specific treatment targets.

03
Exposure Therapy

Facing eating disorder fears.

Adapting and advancing exposure-based interventions for eating disorders. Dr. Levinson has created a therapist and digital version of Facing Eating Disorder Fears - bridging the science of anxiety treatment with eating disorder care.

04
AI & Machine Learning

Intelligent clinical decision support.

Using artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze intensive longitudinal data, predict treatment response, and build clinical decision support tools - moving toward learning health systems for mental health.

05
Wearables & Sensing

Passive monitoring for active care.

Studying how wearable sensors, heart rate variability, and passive-sensing technologies can detect risk states, inform treatment decisions, and extend clinical reach beyond the therapy room.

06
Suicide Prevention

Risk in eating disorder populations.

NIH-funded research examines longitudinal relationships among eating disorder symptoms, physiology, interoception, and suicide risk - expanding understanding of high-risk populations and informing prevention efforts.

07
Digital Therapeutics

Scalable, evidence-based interventions.

Developing technology-enabled interventions that combine mobile assessment, physiological monitoring, AI, and digital therapeutics to expand access to evidence-based eating disorder care.

08
Implementation Science

From discovery to clinic.

Studying how evidence-based and personalized treatments are delivered in real-world clinical settings - including healthcare systems, community programs, and rural settings.

09
Health Equity

Access & underserved populations.

Examining disparities in mental health care access and developing interventions to reach populations historically underserved by eating disorder treatment, including rural and pediatric communities.

10
Anxiety & OCD

Transdiagnostic mechanisms.

Investigating shared mechanisms across eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and OCD - including fear learning, avoidance, interoception, and exposure-based intervention strategies.

Major Funding

Signature awards.

Partner with the EAT Laboratory.

Outcomes research, clinical trial design, grant development - Dr. Levinson works with health systems, treatment centers, and industry to translate science into impact.

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