Assistant Professor (tenure-track)
Clinical Psychology
Ph.D. (2015), University of Nevada, Reno 

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Social Media

Twitter: @HaynosAF

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Research Interests

Everyone gets stuck in unhealthy patterns at some point, but often we change our behaviors when the costs become too high. However, people can get stuck repeating harmful actions, even when there are significant negative consequences. In some cases, these actions involve striving for a goal that people initially have been told is positive (e.g., weight loss, fitness, work accomplishment). My lab seeks to understand this phenomenon: excess goal pursuit that leads to destructive health outcomes. My research has primarily focused on restrictive eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, where the pursuit of weight loss becomes all-consuming and life-threatening. I am also interested in how rigid pursuit of other goals (e.g., academic or work goals) can result in physical and mental health concerns.

My research marries neuroscience and clinical science, embracing a bench-to-bedside philosophy that allows mutual feedback between mechanistic and intervention questions. I use a multi-method approach (e.g., neuroimaging, neurocognitive tasks, ecological momentary assessment) and advanced analytical techniques (e.g., computational modeling) to identify decision-making mechanisms (e.g., emotion regulation, reward, cognitive control) that promote disorders of excess goal pursuit. In my intervention work, I develop and adapt neuroscience-informed treatments to target the processes that cause people to get stuck narrowly pursuing a goal that causes them harm.

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Selected Publications

Haynos, A. F., Widge, A., Anderson, L. M., Redish, A. D. (2022). Beyond description and deficits: How computational psychiatry can enhance an understanding of decision-making in anorexia nervosa. Current Psychiatry Reports, 24, 77-87. doi: 10.1007/s11920-022-01320-9.

Haynos, A. F., Anderson, L. M., Askew, A. J., Craske, M. G., & Peterson, C. B. (2021). Adapting a neuroscience-informed intervention to alter reward mechanisms of anorexia nervosa: A novel direction for future research. Journal of Eating Disorders, 9, doi: 10.1186/s40337-021-00417-5

Haynos, A. F., Lavender, J. M., Nelson, J., Crow, S. J., & Peterson, C. B. (2020). Moving towards specificity: A systematic review of cue features associated with reward and punishment in anorexia nervosa. Clinical Psychology Review. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101872

Haynos, A. F., *Wang, S. B. (co-first authors), Lipson, S., Peterson, C. B., Mitchell, J. E., Halmi, K., Agras, W. S., & Crow, S. J. (2020). Machine learning enhances prediction of illness course: A longitudinal study in eating disorders. Psychological Medicine. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720000227

Haynos, A. F., Hall, L. M. J., Lavender, J. M., Peterson, C. B., Crow, S. J., Klimes-Dougan, B… Camchong, J. (2019). Resting state functional connectivity of networks associated with reward and habit in anorexia nervosa. Human Brain Mapping, 40, 652-662. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24402

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Current Grants

Rule-Based Decision-Making: A Novel Neuroeconomic Mechanism of Anorexia Nervosa

Amount: $2,681,775
Source: National Institute of Mental Health 
Period: 08/16/2022 – 08/15/2027 (Anticipated)
Number: R01MH126978

Neuroscience-informed Treatment to Remotely Target Reward Mechanisms in Post-acute Anorexia Nervosa

Amount: $450,000
Source: National Institute of Mental Health 
Period: 08/16/2022 – 08/15/2025
Number: R34MH129464

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Recent Grants

Neural Correlates of Reward and Symptom Expression in Anorexia Nervosa

Amount: $837,751
Source: National Institute of Mental Health 
Period: 08/02/2017 – 07/31/2022
Number: K23MH112867 

Real-time fMRI Neurofeedback to Alter Limbic Disturbances and Eating Disorder Behavior in Anorexia Nervosa

Amount: $200,000
Source: Hilda and Preston Davis Foundation Award Programs in Eating Disorders Research
Period: 08/01/2019 – 07/31/2022

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Awards

• 2019, Finalist, Informing Prevention Article of the Year, Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention
• 2018 Mentor, Best Paper by an Early Career Scholar (awarded to Mun Yee Kwan), International Journal of Eating Disorders
• 2018-2022, Recipient, Loan Repayment Program, National Institute of Mental Health
• 2018-2020, Fellow, Career Development Institute for Psychiatry, University of Pittsburg/Stanford University
• 2017, Award for Postdoctoral Young Scientists, Global Foundation for Eating Disorders/ Eating Disorders Research Society
• 2017, Best Paper by an Early Career Scholar, International Journal of Eating Disorders

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