New professor aims to improve treatment of rating disorders in children, adolescents, and adults

Loa Clausen is affiliated with both the Department of Clinical Medicine and the Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Aarhus University Hospital, Psychiatry. She is a psychologist with a PhD from 2003 and has focused her research primarily on anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder (BED).

"Over the years, I have tried to understand the mechanisms that drive eating disorders and influence both disease progression and the potential for recovery. This applies from both a clinical and a registry-based perspective," says Loa Clausen.

The professor’s research has, among other things, uncovered treatment patterns, patient perspectives, and the effects of various treatment approaches. In addition, she has been involved in studies on children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and ADHD, as well as disordered eating in individuals with diabetes and obesity.

Currently, she is leading a project investigating various driving forces behind binge eating and whether they impact treatment outcomes. She is also heading a study testing the effect of the preventive program Body Project in young women with mental disorders.

"I hope the professorship will contribute to greater focus on psychological research in psychiatric disorders in general and promote the treatment of eating disorders and disordered eating specifically, as well as make it easier to attract research funding for this area. It is also my wish that, through the professorship, I can contribute to research that bridges child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry, as well as somatic and psychiatric care," she says.

Contact

Professor Loa Clausen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Psychiatry - Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Phone: +45 29119734
loa.clausen@clin.au.dk