Our Team

Dr. Hildebrandt is a clinical psychologist specializing in treatment and biological basis of eating, weight, and addictive disorders. His clinical focus is on the use of CBT and family-based therapy (FBT) for eating disorders, the novel use of exposure therapy for body image and feeding/eating disorders, and mHealth interventions. He is an active clinician, supervisor, and teacher. His research interests include biological basis of anorexia nervosa and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, contributions of hormones and lipid signals (e.g., endocannabinoids) to eating and anxious behavior/reward learning, and sex differences in eating and addictive disorders. He uses a range of techniques including neuroimaging, laboratory feeding, and electrophysiology. He is a trained statistician with expertise in methods devised to study heterogeneity (e.g., finite mixture models) and novel clinical trial designs (e.g Adaptive Randomized Trials). He is on the editorial board of several top journals (Behaviour Research and Therapy, International Journal of Eating Disorders), elected member of Eating Disorder Research Society (EDRS), and is a board member of Global Foundation for Eating Disorders (GFED). He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2007 and has over 100 publications. He is also lead in the development of several mHealth interventions for eating disorders, obesity, and bariatric surgery populations and co-investigator on a mobile platform patent. His current focus is on the development of a clinical biobank for eating disorders through the implementation of a living laboratory where patients, clinicians, and researchers work together to develop the next generation of clinical science for the field.

Dr. Sysko is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Eating and Weight Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She completed her graduate training at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and she was a post-doctoral fellow and faculty member in the Eating Disorders Research Unit at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She received a K award from the NIDDK to examine psychosocial outcomes among adolescents receiving bariatric surgery under the supervision of B. Timothy Walsh, MD. Since joining the Eating and Weight Disorders Program in 2014, Dr. Sysko has helped to execute all major studies, including imaging and treatment research on low weight eating disorders, patients with binge eating symptoms, and individuals pursuing bariatric surgery. The lab’s work is focused on trying to understand the underlying mechanisms of disgust in eating pathology and interventions that might help improve outcomes for individuals with a broad range of eating and weight disorders.

Eve K Freidl is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Medical Director of the Eating and Weight Disorders Program. She joined the faculty in September 2018. Dr. Freidl earned her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine. She was a resident at Montefiore Medical Center and completed her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry residency at Weill Cornell and Columbia University Medical Centers at New York-Presbyterian. Following clinical training, she received a NIMH T32 post-doctoral research training grant to pursue resarch at Columbia University in affective, anxiety and related disorders. While a research fellow, Dr. Freidl received an American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Pilot Research Award to study genetic contributions to simulation medication side effects of weight loss and growth suppression. She participated in an assessment of adolescent bariatric surgery candidates and research related to the functioning and outcomes of these adolescents. She also gained clinical expertise in the evaluation and psychological and pharmacological treatment of eating disorders. From 2013- 2018 she worked in the faculty at Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) and served as medical director. There she specialized in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and their families with anxiety and eating disorders. Dr. Freidl’s clinical work remains focused on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. Her research interests include treatment development and understanding biological markers that influence illness and treatment outcomes.

Chinara Tate is a doctor of behavioral nutrition and registered dietitian (RD) with specific research interest in examining the neural correlates of eating disorders and the neuromodular effects of food. Dr. Tate is the Director of Nutrition at the Eating and Weight Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her clinical work as a dietitian is grounded in evidence-based practice with an emphasis on cognitive behavioral coaching, nutrition counseling and individualized nutrition planning. Dr. Tate received two MA’s in Nutrition, Public Health and Neuroscience and received her PhD in behavioral nutrition at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Her nutritional philosophies are premised on conducting critical analysis of the existing nutrition and health behavior research so that her clients receive the most accurate information available to become experts in driving their own health and well-being.

Laura Berner is a clinical psychologist interested in how cognitive neuroscience can help us understand eating disorder symptoms. She earned her PhD from Drexel University and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California San Diego Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research. She joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty in 2019. Her research aims to understand how altered self-control may promote cycles of binge eating, purging, and restricted eating. To this end, she combines innovative behavioral tasks with structural and functional brain imaging, computational modeling approaches, and self-report and laboratory-based symptom measures. Dr. Berner’s ultimate goals are to build new explanatory models of eating disorders, identify predictors of outcome, and translate research findings to tools for clinical decision-making and novel interventions. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Hilda and Preston Davis Foundation, the American Psychological Association, and the Academy for Eating Disorders. In addition, Dr. Berner has over a decade of experience assessing and treating adolescents and adults with eating disorders at all levels of care. She is trained in dialectical behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive processing therapy, family-based treatment, and traditional and enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders, personality disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder

Billie Katz is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of the Young Adult Intensive Outpatient Program at the Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders. Dr. Katz specializes in the assessment and treatment of adolescents and young adults with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. She has extensive training and expertise in treating the intersection of eating and weight disorders, emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors, suicidal ideation, and personality disorders. Dr. Katz earned her MS in School Psychology and PsyD in Clinical Psychology from the Combined School-Clinical Child Psychology Program at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants, where she received advanced training in CBT and DBT, and her predoctoral internship at Mount Sinai Services/Elmhurst Hospital Center.

Deena Peyser is an assistant Professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Peyser specializes in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, substance use disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Rutgers University where she worked in the Center of Alcohol Studies researching the impact of sex differences on social support and substance use outcomes, with a focus on young mothers with substance use disorders. Dr. Peyser completed her predoctoral internship at the Hudson Valley VA where she treated veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, severe mental illness, and personality disorders. Her current research focuses on testing a novel therapeutic intervention for adolescents with low-weight eating disorders focused on interoceptive exposure

Jeneane Solz is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of comorbid eating, anxiety and behavioral disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults. Dr. Solz is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Eating and Weight Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She has expertise in using evidence based treatments to work collaboratively with families and schools to address an array of child behavioral and emotional disorders. Dr. Solz received her MA and PhD in clinical psychology from Hofstra University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in the child and adolescent clinical track at Bellevue Hospital Center, and her post-doctoral training at Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD). Additionally, Dr. Solz is a certified therapist and level 1 trainer in Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) from PCIT International. As an Instructor of Psychology (in Psychiatry) within the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center she continued providing services at CUCARD where she specialized in cognitive behavioral therapy for children that present with comorbid externalizing and internalizing disorders. Dr. Solz’s research interests have focused on parenting stress, the use of technology to enhance behavioral treatments, and on the provision of evidence based treatments in clinical settings. Dr. Solz is a member of the American Psychological Association, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Dr. Solz has presented her work at several national and international professional organizations including the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the American Psychological Association, the World Psychiatric Association, and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy International.

Heather Rosen is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders at Mount Sinai. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders in adolescents and young adults, and her research interests and experiences broadly focus on the development, implementation, and evaluation of psychotherapeutic interventions for youth and families. Dr. Rosen earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and completed her doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, she was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine where she provided inpatient and outpatient treatment to patients and families in the Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Program, served as a primary clinical supervisor for psychology and psychiatry trainees, and taught graduate students in the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium. In her role as Clinical Lead/Attending Psychologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Dr. Rosen led the expansion of outpatient eating disorder services and was the primary clinical supervisor for the eating disorders team. She is a certified Family-Based Treatment (FBT) therapist and supervisor, and serves as a faculty member for the Training Institute for Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders, which trains and provides certification in FBT to licensed mental health professionals worldwide.

Allison Falkenberg is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the Mount Sinai Center for Excellence. She received her Master’s Degree in Social Work at The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and joined the Mount Sinai Health System in 2017. She provides clinical and administrative leadership, provides services to those with eating and weight disorders and supervises the clinical practice of other social workers. In addition, Allison currently specializes in the diagnostic assessment process of children and adults with eating disorders and is the clinic’s primary program coordinator for all new patient referrals.

Sabrina Shih is a Licensed Master Social Worker at the Mount Sinai Center for Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Relations with a psychology minor at McGill University and her Master’s Degree in Science in Social Work at Columbia University. She joined the Mount Sinai Health System in 2021. She provides outreach coordination and clinical services, including diagnostic assessments, psychotherapeutic interventions, and treatment planning, for children and adults with eating disorders. In addition, Sabrina also serves as the center’s liaison for outreach and community initiatives.

Sarah Retchin is a Licensed Master Social Worker at the Mount Sinai Center for Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders. She received her Master’s Degree in Science and Social Work at Columbia University and joined the Mount Sinai Health System in 2022. Her clinical work focuses on assessment and treatment of children and adults with eating and weight disorders. In addition, Sarah facilitates clinical services for the center’s Young Adult Intensive Outpatient Program.

Julia Babcock is a Licensed Master Social Worker at the Mount Sinai Center for Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts at Texas Christian University with a minor in Spanish. She received her Master’s Degree in Science and Social Work at Columbia University. She joined the Mount Sinai Health System in 2022. Her clinical work focuses on assessment and treatment of children and adults with eating and weight disorders.

Jessica Bibeau is the project manager in the Eating and Weight Disorders Program. She has over 20 years of experience in research/project management for NIH-, industry-, and internally-funded research in the areas of weight loss, skin cancer prevention, health, social media, and eating disorders. Additionally, she conducts workshops, trainings, and consultations to train new managers on formal project management techniques applied in academic research. Jessica is responsible for regulatory approvals and submissions, multi-site communication, developing and ensuring adherence to the standard operating procedures, overseeing data management, managing staffing, and budgetary monitoring.

Desiree Webb joined Mount Sinai’s Eating and Weight Disorders program in July 2022. Prior to joining EWDP, she studied at Barnard College where she majored in Psychology and Economics. Her final independent study investigated the effect of self-compassion primes on perfectionism-related anxiety. Her research interests include identifying the maintaining mechanisms of anorexia nervosa for the development of targeted treatment interventions, as well as testing the use of a broad anxiety model for eating disorders.

Xi Chen joined Mount Sinai’s Eating and Weight Disorders program in June 2023. She currently coordinates the Living Laboratory Study, which is dedicated to creating a biobank for eating disorders to enhance future treatment, and leads the Decision-Making Study that seeks to understand the decision-making processes and food choices in patients with anorexia nervosa. She also co-coordinates the mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure (MBIE) clinical trial for children with ARFID. Before joining the EWDP, Xi earned dual Bachelor’s Degrees from Columbia University and City University of Hong Kong where she majored in Psychology and completed two theses on investigating unique patterns of adolescent pregnancy and exploring gender differences in the factors related to persons in custody’s recidivism, respectively. Her research interests are deeply rooted in women’s mental health, including but not limited to understanding the biological and psychological factors that contribute to or prevent the development of eating disorders during women’s various developmental stages.

Lisa Bozza-Canals provides administrative support to faculty, staff, and patients engaged in care at the Mount Sinai Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders.

Maiya Harris joined the Mount Sinai Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders in March of 2022 to assist the program in day to day operations. As program assistant, she provides administrative, logistical, and programmatic support to each provider and patient within the program. Prior to joining EWDP, Maiya spent several years volunteering with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and working with several other departments at Mount Sinai as a floater, learning many ways to aide providers and patients. With several years experience in customer service and a passion for psychology, Maiya spends her time with routine personnel, assisting patients with difficult matters, and helping maintain the program’s finances. Taking pride in her work, Maiya looks forward to doing what she loves most – helping others.