The Harris Center at Massachusetts General Hospital coordinates research, education, advocacy, and outreach programs related to eating disorders. Through extensive longitudinal studies and collaborations, it seeks to expand knowledge of the causes, detection, and treatment of eating disorders. It also aims to promote healthy development and prevent eating disorders. The Center educates the public, policymakers, and healthcare professionals on issues like insurance coverage and treatment access. It maintains a website and sponsors various community events to disseminate information about eating disorders. The Center's work is supported entirely through private donations and grants.

1. THE HARRIS CENTER AT MASSACHUSETTS
GENERAL HOSPITAL
More than ten million Americans are suffering from eating disorders, and the challenges of
treatment are great. Eating disorders are serious health problems and involve excessive food
intake or restrictive eating, as well as relentless concern with body shape and weight. They can coexist with other psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse, and can
lead to a wide range of physical conditions including heart disease, bone loss and infertility. Early
diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders are critical. Comprehensive treatment plans are
needed to address the psychological, nutritional and medical aspects of the disorders.
The Harris Center, formerly the Harvard Eating Disorders Center, founded and led by David B.
Herzog, M.D., is a dynamic, interdisciplinary community of scholars dedicated to expanding
knowledge about eating disorders, their detection, treatment and prevention. Through research,
education, advocacy and outreach, the Center is uniquely positioned to bring together experts to
generate, share and creatively disseminate this knowledge to caregivers, patients, their families
and the community. At the heart of the Center is a commitment to promote the healthy
development of all who are at risk.
Research
The Harris Center coordinates an interdisciplinary research program that addresses many aspects
of eating disorders. The Center is the international leader in the study of causes and treatments of
osteoporosis in teenage and adult anorexia nervosa. In addition to our research in genetics,
neuroimaging, coexisting disorders (i.e. depression) and diagnostic classification, the Center
conducts an active federally funded treatment study of anorexia nervosa.
The Center’s major study is the Massachusetts General Hospital Longitudinal Study of Anorexia
and Bulimia Nervosa, which is internationally recognized as the largest and most extensive of its
kind. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health for 10 years starting in 1987, this study
maps crucial information about the course and outcome of anorexia and bulimia based on detailed
interviews with 246 women with eating disorders.
Education
The Harris Center’s commitment to education and outreach has led to significant milestones, such
as the development of the New England Eating Disorders Research Collaborative to promote
interaction among researchers in the field of eating disorders. The Center hosts two symposia per
year, offering scientists, clinicians and educators the opportunity to exchange ideas, keep abreast
of recent advances in the field, and discuss future directions in eating disorders research.
Through its annual Matina S. Horner, Ph.D. Summer Research Fellowships, the Center mentors
undergraduate and graduate students, enabling them to undertake their own research projects.
Established in 1997, this research fellowship program – the first of its kind – has now enjoyed more
than a decade of progress.
Advocacy
Dr. Herzog and his team are involved in efforts to educate the public and policy makers on key
issues in eating disorders, such as access to care, third party coverage for treatments, research
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2. funding at the federal level and prevention efforts in the schools and the media. In 2000, Dr. Herzog
founded the Eating Disorders Coalition in Washington D.C. The EDC is a national coalition of the
leaders of eating disorders organizations who collaborate on advocacy efforts in the nation’s capital.
The EDC routinely briefs Congress on the importance of eating disorders to the national healthcare
agenda and the critical need for parity in insurance coverage for the multiple treatments necessary
(nutritional, medical, psychiatric and family-centered) for recovery from eating disorders.
The Harris Center has educated state legislators regarding the seriousness of anorexia nervosa.
Eating disorders were excluded from the list of serious mental illnesses to receive full parity, which
led to many insurance companies denying payment. In part due to our efforts, Massachusetts
added eating disorders to the parity law, which now allows individuals with eating disorders to
receive the same level of insurance coverage as those with medical disorders.
Outreach
The Harris Center maintains a web site, www.harriscentermgh.org, which provides a vital
resource for individuals, families, practitioners and researchers worldwide.
The Center sponsors a myriad of community events and symposia for the public and for healthcare
professionals, in an effort to provide the most up-to-date information available on eating disorders
to all. Sponsored events include an Annual Public Forum, which serves to promote dialogue
concerning a variety of topics such as the media’s influence on body image and the impact of
culture on self-esteem, as well as to educate the community.
Our annual newsletter keeps the community and the public-at-large updated on Harris Center
research, education and advocacy programs.
The Harris Center is entirely supported by private donations, and grants from the Federal
Government and private foundations. As such, raising philanthropic support for the Center is
vital for the physicians and researchers who strive to better understand and more efficiently treat
eating disorders, train the next generation of clinicians and researchers, and assure that treatment
is accessible to all those who need it.
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