LEAH Profiles

Danielle Lindner
I am primarily interested in further exploring the link between appearance-related social comparisons and body image. I am also working on a project related to male body image.

Catherine Pearte
Attending an all women's university as an undergraduate made it all too apparent that so many women are dissatisfied with their appearance. My interest became a passion for research in the field of body image and so I was thrilled when I was accepted to the University of Central Florida to work under Dr. Stacey Tantleff-Dunn in 2006. Currently, I am researching how parents contribute to their children's health and attitudes about their appearance. In addition to enjoying the opportunity to research, I have found teaching to be particularly rewarding.

Elizabeth Wack
Elizabeth "Betsy" Wack graduated from the University of Florida in 2005 and returned to her hometown to study body image and eating disorders under Dr. Stacey Tantleff-Dunn. Currently, her research interests are media influences (and particularly electronic gaming) on body image formation, and neuropsychological profiles associated with eating disorders and body image disturbance. Betsy hopes to someday extend her research findings to the development of empirically based prevention and intervention protocol for body image disturbance.

Karen Grippo
Karen Grippo is currently a doctoral student working with Dr. Stacey Tantleff Dunn in LEAH. She earned her MA in Counseling Psychology from the State University of New York at New Paltz and her BA in Psychology and Sociology from the State University of New York at Geneseo. �Karen's research interests focus on protective factors in promoting and maintaining healthy body image and eating behaviors across the adult lifespan. She is currently examining empowerment and feminist attitudes as moderators between self-objectification and body dissatisfaction, eating disturbance, and experiences with aging.

Sharon Hayes
Hello! My name is Sharon Hayes and I work with Dr. Stacey Dunn in the Laboratory for the Study of Eating, Appearance, & Health. My research in the areas of body image and eating behavior is focused primarily on young children and families. Examples of my interests include sociocultural factors associated with the development of body dissatisfaction, prevention and intervention strategies for obesity, and the role of mindfulness in obesity interventions.