Pamela K. Keel

Research topics

Matched from this investigator's NIH project titles and abstracts.

• Eating Disorders
• Anxiety Disorders
• PTSD and Trauma
• Depression
• Child and Adolescent Development

Active NIH awards

• Eating Disorders Across Genders, Generations, and Adult Developmental Stages

  5R01MH126990-05

  NIMH · FY 2025 · $378K

  Very little is known about how the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) has changed across generations or the trajectory of EDs over the course of adult development. This study offers a unique opportunity to 1) examine ED point prevalence and mean scores on dimensional ED measures across 5 cohorts of college students randomly sampled from the same university population in 1982, 1992, 2002, 2012, and 2022, 2) examine the longitudinal course of eating pathology from late adolescence to midlife (18 to 62+ years), and 3) identify predictors of course focusing on factors unique to adulthood. This project will offer new insights into how generation impacts gender differences in EDs and how both gender and generation impact longitudinal trajectory. This project builds on a study initiated in 1982 and replicated with the addition of new cohorts and extended with follow-up of well-characterized, established cohorts every 10 years since its inception. In the spring of 2022, 1600 undergraduates (800 women and 800 men) will be randomly sampled to complete surveys of weight, height, body image disturbance, dieting, disordered eating behaviors, and EDs. In addition, participants who completed these assessments in college will be sought for 10-, 20-, 30-, and 40-year follow- up. We project collecting 20-year follow-up data in over 1,700 adults (>70% retention), including nearly 500 men and over 400 participants from ethnic/racial minority groups. These data will allow us to examine generation X age effects to determine whether course of eating pathology differs across Baby Boomers (1982 cohort), Generation X (1992 cohort), and Millennials (2002 cohort). The investigation will be conducted in two stages: a survey phase and an interview phase. The survey phase will replicate methods employed for data collection in all prior waves to ensure comparability of data. Surveys include detailed items about demographic background; height and weight; dieting, body image, and exercise; 5 scales of the Eating Disorders Inventory (Bulimia, Drive for Thinness, Maturity Fears, Perfectionism, and Interpersonal Distrust); and symptoms of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and permit DSM-5 ED diagnosis and diagnoses of their partial and subthreshold variants. In addition, beginning in the 3rd wave, surveys included the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale which is included as a core ED assessment for the NIMH. On the basis of self-report survey data, all subjects diagnosed with an ED and controls matched to these subjects on age, sex, race, and ethnicity will be recruited for participation in the interview phase of the study. Interviews will establish the validity of survey assessments, as well as provide data on psychosocial function, suicidality, comorbidity, and treatment history for a nonclinical sample, similar to their use in the 3rd wave, 20 years ago. The long-term objectives of this project are to evaluate whether we are making progress in reducing the public health burden associated with EDs, determine the adult developmental course of EDs, and identify predictors of ED trajectory that can be translated into targets for intervention, including what to modify, in whom, and when.

• Integrated Clinical Neuroscience Training for Translational Research

  5T32MH093311-14

  NIMH · FY 2025 · $174K

  The Integrated Clinical Neuroscience (ICN) Training Program, operating within the Clinical Psychology and interdisciplinary Neuroscience programs at Florida State University for the past 9 years, seeks to train the next generation of investigators to become leaders in translational research and make major advances in several areas of psychopathology characterized by dysregulated behaviors including eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. These problems are associated with significant psychological and medical morbidity, elevated mortality, and high economic burden. This underscores the need for research that translates the neural mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal behavior in animals into clinical studies of the causes and treatment of mental disorders. However, segregation of doctoral training in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, with separate courses, lab experiences, and exposure to outside speakers, impedes new scientists’ preparation to undertake translational approaches in their own research. The ICN Training Program was designed to break down these barriers. Here, we seek continued funding to provide integrated instruction, research experience, and mentorship to 4 predoctoral ICN trainees earning PhDs in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience through 1) cross-area courses, 2) cross-area lab rotations, 3) a Special Speaker Series in which trainees present their research to invited scholars conducting translational science, and these scholars present their work to trainees, our participating Departments, and the community, 4) presentation of research at conferences and in published papers, and 5) instruction in grant writing, data science, and cross-area instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Predoctoral trainees apply for the ICN Training Program by describing research they plan to conduct in collaboration with their primary advisor and cross-area mentor, classes they will complete, and how this cross-area exposure will contribute to their career development as translational scientists. Students are typically appointed for two years beginning in their 3rd to 4th year to ensure selection of the most promising trainees who have completed basic program requirements and established research interests that can be extended by a cross-area lab rotation. Our training model has supported a total of 19 trainees. Among the 13 ICN trainees who have completed the Ph.D., 92% have continued in research careers (with 4 currently in tenure-track positions) and 77% have received highly competitive fellowships and independent research grants. Training faculty, selected for their cross-area connections in research addressing dysregulated behaviors, continue to excel in securing grant funding and training students for research careers with strong publication records. Continuation of the ICN Training Grant for an additional 5 years will build upon our accomplishments and ensure that a third cohort of Ph.D. students is ideally positioned to initiate cutting-edge translational research to address mental disorders characterized by dysregulated behaviors.

• Integrated Clinical Neuroscience Training for Translational Research

  5T32MH093311-13

  NIMH · FY 2024 · $181K

  The Integrated Clinical Neuroscience (ICN) Training Program, operating within the Clinical Psychology and interdisciplinary Neuroscience programs at Florida State University for the past 9 years, seeks to train the next generation of investigators to become leaders in translational research and make major advances in several areas of psychopathology characterized by dysregulated behaviors including eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. These problems are associated with significant psychological and medical morbidity, elevated mortality, and high economic burden. This underscores the need for research that translates the neural mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal behavior in animals into clinical studies of the causes and treatment of mental disorders. However, segregation of doctoral training in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, with separate courses, lab experiences, and exposure to outside speakers, impedes new scientists’ preparation to undertake translational approaches in their own research. The ICN Training Program was designed to break down these barriers. Here, we seek continued funding to provide integrated instruction, research experience, and mentorship to 4 predoctoral ICN trainees earning PhDs in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience through 1) cross-area courses, 2) cross-area lab rotations, 3) a Special Speaker Series in which trainees present their research to invited scholars conducting translational science, and these scholars present their work to trainees, our participating Departments, and the community, 4) presentation of research at conferences and in published papers, and 5) instruction in grant writing, data science, and cross-area instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Predoctoral trainees apply for the ICN Training Program by describing research they plan to conduct in collaboration with their primary advisor and cross-area mentor, classes they will complete, and how this cross-area exposure will contribute to their career development as translational scientists. Students are typically appointed for two years beginning in their 3rd to 4th year to ensure selection of the most promising trainees who have completed basic program requirements and established research interests that can be extended by a cross-area lab rotation. Our training model has supported a total of 19 trainees. Among the 13 ICN trainees who have completed the Ph.D., 92% have continued in research careers (with 4 currently in tenure-track positions) and 77% have received highly competitive fellowships and independent research grants. Training faculty, selected for their cross-area connections in research addressing dysregulated behaviors, continue to excel in securing grant funding and training students for research careers with strong publication records. Continuation of the ICN Training Grant for an additional 5 years will build upon our accomplishments and ensure that a third cohort of Ph.D. students is ideally positioned to initiate cutting-edge translational research to address mental disorders characterized by dysregulated behaviors.

• Integrated Clinical Neuroscience Training for Translational Research

  5T32MH093311-12

  NIMH · FY 2023 · $171K

  The Integrated Clinical Neuroscience (ICN) Training Program, operating within the Clinical Psychology and interdisciplinary Neuroscience programs at Florida State University for the past 9 years, seeks to train the next generation of investigators to become leaders in translational research and make major advances in several areas of psychopathology characterized by dysregulated behaviors including eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. These problems are associated with significant psychological and medical morbidity, elevated mortality, and high economic burden. This underscores the need for research that translates the neural mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal behavior in animals into clinical studies of the causes and treatment of mental disorders. However, segregation of doctoral training in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, with separate courses, lab experiences, and exposure to outside speakers, impedes new scientists’ preparation to undertake translational approaches in their own research. The ICN Training Program was designed to break down these barriers. Here, we seek continued funding to provide integrated instruction, research experience, and mentorship to 4 predoctoral ICN trainees earning PhDs in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience through 1) cross-area courses, 2) cross-area lab rotations, 3) a Special Speaker Series in which trainees present their research to invited scholars conducting translational science, and these scholars present their work to trainees, our participating Departments, and the community, 4) presentation of research at conferences and in published papers, and 5) instruction in grant writing, data science, and cross-area instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Predoctoral trainees apply for the ICN Training Program by describing research they plan to conduct in collaboration with their primary advisor and cross-area mentor, classes they will complete, and how this cross-area exposure will contribute to their career development as translational scientists. Students are typically appointed for two years beginning in their 3rd to 4th year to ensure selection of the most promising trainees who have completed basic program requirements and established research interests that can be extended by a cross-area lab rotation. Our training model has supported a total of 19 trainees. Among the 13 ICN trainees who have completed the Ph.D., 92% have continued in research careers (with 4 currently in tenure-track positions) and 77% have received highly competitive fellowships and independent research grants. Training faculty, selected for their cross-area connections in research addressing dysregulated behaviors, continue to excel in securing grant funding and training students for research careers with strong publication records. Continuation of the ICN Training Grant for an additional 5 years will build upon our accomplishments and ensure that a third cohort of Ph.D. students is ideally positioned to initiate cutting-edge translational research to address mental disorders characterized by dysregulated behaviors.

Earlier awards

• Eating Disorders Across Genders, Generations, and Adult Developmental StagesFY 2024 · $334K