Today’s member profile comes from Dr. Shelly Russell-Mayhew, PhD, R. Psych., Werklund Research Professor, University of Calgary . Dr. Russell-Mayhew sits on the Obesity Canada EveryBODY Matters Collaborative committee.
Dr. Russell-Mayhew is a professor and registered psychologist with a research program in the prevention and treatment of eating and weight-related issues. The primary objective of Dr. Russell-Mayhew’s research program is to lead and transform research about weight-related issues like body image (perceptions, attitudes, and experiences about the body), disordered eating (e.g., unhealthy methods of weight change), weight-related disorders (e.g., obesity and eating disorders) and professional conversations and interactions about weight (e.g., weight bias). Her research is informed by clinical and research experience in interdisciplinary team contexts, as well as linkages between her work in academia and committee work with policy-makers and community partners.
Her professional journey working with weight-related issues is influenced and fueled by a deeply personal and sometimes troubled relationship with her own body. No one is immune to the cultural discourses about weight. In her work, she reflects on the personal, professional and political ‘situatedness’ of her research and aspires to embody the change she wishes to see in the world.
You can find out more about her research here: https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/research/body-image-lab
