Azarbad and North Central alumna present at Society of Behavioral Medicine conference

Leila Azarbad, North Central College associate professor of psychology, and alumna Jacey Keeney ’13 co-presented their research at the 37th annual meeting and scientific sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), held in Washington, D.C. SBM is the largest national professional organization in health psychology/behavioral medicine.  
 
Keeney was a member of Azarbad’s undergraduate BOD-E (Binging, Obesity, and Disordered Eating) research laboratory during her time at North Central College and served an instrumental role in collecting and analyzing the data that was presented. Azarbad and Keeney have continued their research collaboration to the present day.

The two presented projects at the conference were titled “Predictors of ideal weight loss goals in college students” and “Predictors of binge eating in undergraduate athletes.” The latter project built upon research that Keeney conducted during her time at North Central College and presented at the Rall Symposium and the Midwestern Psychological Association annual research conference in 2013.

While a North Central student, Keeney majored in psychology and mathematics and worked closely with Azarbad. Keeney is a third-year doctoral student in a health psychology Ph.D. program at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Illinois, where she continues to study the relationships among eating, mood, and physical activity in college students and professional athletes.    
 
Click here to view Azarbad's faculty profile.