Claire Foldi: Unravelling the neurobiology of eating disorders to inform effective treatments

Dr Claire J. Foldi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at Monash University, where she leads a multidisciplinary research program investigating the brain circuits that drive anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. Her work bridges preclinical neuroscience with translational relevance, offering critical insight into the biological mechanisms that underlie psychiatric illness. She is a founding member of the executive of the Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Centre (AEDRTC). This role requires extensive collaboration and knowledge exchange with clinicians, service providers, and individuals with lived experience. These positions ensure that her research is both scientifically rigorous and socially relevant. With eating disorders affecting millions and remaining among the most fatal yet poorly understood mental illnesses, Dr Foldi's research addresses a pressing gap: how disruptions in brain pathways involved in reward, self-control, and decision-making contribute to the persistence of disordered eating. Her lab uses advanced neural recording and manipulation tools to map these circuits and explore how novel therapeutics, including psychedelics, may modulate them. Widely recognized for her rigorous yet exploratory approach, Dr. Foldi actively integrates techniques and perspectives from adjacent fields to push the boundaries of eating disorders research. In this Genomics Press interview, she reflects on her unexpected path into the field and how early experimental observations, combined with the rising interest in psychedelic medicine, have positioned her as a leading voice in a new generation of research at the intersection of metabolism, neurobiology, and psychiatry.