Research Team
Focused research initiatives supporting transgender youth with eating disorders.
An Pham, MD MPH (she/her)
Dr. An Pham is the principal investigator of RISES. She is an Adolescent Medicine physician and researcher at the Virginia Commonwealth University/Children’s Hospital of Richmond. She has clinical and research expertise on disordered eating among transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse youth. Dr. Pham earned her medical degree from Ben Gurion University of the Negev and completed her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She completed a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital and during that time she also earned a masters degree in public health. As a cisgender researcher who also provides gender-affirming medical care, Dr. Pham’s primary goal is to empower the voices of transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse youth throughout her research.
Zoe W. (they/them)
Zoe has worked in clinical research for five years and has contributed to a variety of projects including researching the effect of pets on queer mental health, VR treatment for neuropathic pain, and childhood behavioral health. They have also been working with youth in teaching and community building capacities for the better part of the past nine years. On this grant, they serve as the primary contact for participants, manage the Youth Advisory Board, aid recruitment, and assist with the creation of study materials. They also obtain participant consent, collect data, and ensure participants are paid. They greatly appreciate the work this grant endeavors to do, both as a researcher and a nonbinary person. Trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse health is deeply understudied, and they hope this grant will provide valuable tools to improve treatment for those with eating disorders, as well as lead to better informed research for this population in the future
Amber (she/her)
Amber is a social worker and therapist with many years of experience advocating for eating disorder patients and the LGBTQ community. She is proud to be providing consultation to the research team on various aspects of the grant to ensure community and patient needs are being centered throughout this project. She knows all too well that disordered eating is still very misunderstood and hard to assess, especially across different communities and demographics. Amber is excited to help carry this research forward to improve the lives of people with eating disorders through community-specific assessment tools which will aid in early detection and treatment.
Youth Advisory Board
RISES’s research team includes a youth advisory board of 5-7 transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse youth across the country. This board of youth meets virtually every month to provide input on all steps of our research projects.
