Meet Dr. Heather Davis

I am a first-year Assistant Professor in the Clinical Science area. I grew up in South Florida. I earned my undergraduate degree in Psychology from Florida State University, and my PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Kentucky. I completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship in Eating Disorders Research at the University of Chicago.

Virginia Tech stood out to me for so many reasons! I wanted to be a part of a vibrant research community and I could tell right away that the Psychology Department faculty and students were doing cutting edge research that aligned with their passion for psychological science. I also love the mountains in Blacksburg! Having grown up in a very flat place, I am still in awe at how beautiful it is here in Virginia.

My research seeks to (1) increase our understanding of why eating disorders overlap with other forms of psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance misuse) and (2) explore new risk and maintenance factors for eating disorders and body image disturbance, especially among understudied and/or high-risk groups (e.g., people with food insecurity). My passion stems from my clinical experiences; my patients often presented with symptoms of other mental disorders in addition to their eating disorder, and with life circumstances (e.g., limited access to food) that could not be addressed with established eating disorder treatments. Often, there was no empirically supported treatment that fit their needs, and I found myself constantly scaffolding together interventions from different treatments. I often wished I could treat the underlying mechanisms of their presenting symptoms (to treat multiple problems at once), rather than playing therapy “whack-a-mole” – in which one symptom decreases with treatment and another, separate symptom increases. 

I want the public to know that eating disorders are serious illnesses that deserve attention (and more research funding)! Eating disorders are not limited to the “S.W.A.G.” stereotype – skinny, White, affluent, girls. On the contrary, eating disorders occur across the weight spectrum and among people of all ages, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, and genders. This topic is important because even though almost everyone knows someone with an eating disorder, and eating disorders have some of the highest mortality rates of all psychiatric illnesses, eating disorders research is criminally underfunded, and people across the world are suffering the consequences of this underinvestment.

I love brainstorming new research projects and designing studies with my team! I also love teaching students about eating disorders and watching them grow into agents of change.

Don’t put the rest of your life on hold for work!

In middle school, I won 2nd place at the annual science fair for my project that involved testing different combinations of temperatures and baking times for chocolate chip cookies. This really sparked my interest in science.

I have too many to pick a favorite! I enjoy painting, drawing, baking, being outside, tending to my houseplants, and watching live music. I also really love re-watching Schitt’s Creek.

I love traveling and enjoy exploring new places, but I will never turn down an opportunity to go anywhere in Italy, or to Paris!

In grad school, I won tickets to be in the Tonight Show audience twice, and the first time I went, Jimmy Fallon served me pizza!