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Robin Masheb, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry
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Additional Titles

Director, Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight (The VIEW at VA CT)

About

Titles

Professor of Psychiatry

Director, Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight (The VIEW at VA CT)

Biography

Dr. Masheb is Professor of Psychiatry and a clinical psychologist at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM). Her scholarly work has focused on advancing the fields of obesity, eating disorders, and pain for underserved populations. The recipient of multiple grants from the NIH, VA and DoD, Dr. Masheb is expert in the conduct of trials to develop and implement evidence-based treatments. This includes expertise in efficacy, effectiveness, pragmatic, and comparative effectiveness trials, as well as psychometric and qualitative research. She is founder and Director of the Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight (The View), the first and only national program dedicated to addressing the broad spectrum of eating and weight problems in the Veteran population through research and expert consultation to national VA policy and operations offices. She is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association’s Division of Health Psychology and the Society of Behavioral Medicine, is on the Editorial Board of Eating Behaviors, has over 150 peer-reviewed publications, and has reviewed for 25 unique scientific journals. Dr. Masheb has been an active educator at the individual level training YSM medical students, graduate students, interns and postdoctoral fellows; at the University level teaching in the classroom, and participating on multiple internship and postdoctoral training committees; and at the national level, serving as Director of Education for the VA PRIME Center of Innovation (COIN) located at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Postdoctoral Fellow
Yale School of Medicine (1998)
PhD
St. John's University (1997)
Intern
Brown University School of Medicine (1996)
BS
Tufts University (1988)

Research

Overview

CURRENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH

W81XWH2110794 Masheb (PI) 09/30/2021-09/29/2025

Department of Defense (DoD)

Building an Equitable and Accessible System of Eating Disorder care for VA, DoD, and Underrepresented Americans with Eating Disorders (EASED) Study

The overall objective is to test and improve access to evidence-based eating disorder treatment for active-duty Service members and Veterans. The two-part project will include a comparative effectiveness trial of virtual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TeleCBT) for binge eating disorders. This will be followed by qualitative methods for implementation to inform DoD and VA Clinical Practice Guidelines for eating disorders.


IIR TBD (R01 equivalent) Mitchell (PI) 01/01/2019-03/31/2022

VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D)

Eating Disorders in Veterans: Risk, Resilience, and Service Use

The specific aims of this project are to: 1) examine the prevalence of male and female Veterans reporting full and subthreshold eating disorders 2) identify service use and needs among male and female Veterans with eating disorders; 3) examine models of risk and protective factors for eating disorders and examine gender similarities and differences in these models; and 4) validate a screening measure of eating disorders.

Role: Co-Investigator


IIR 17-223-2 (R01 equivalent) Masheb; Maguen (Multi-PIs) 12/01/2018-11/30/2022

VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D)

Eating Disorder Screening and Diagnostic Tools for the Veterans Healthcare System

The objective of this study is to develop an evidence-based clinical pathway to address eating disorders in the VA that will aid in standardizing care and improving outcomes for Veterans. This multi-site study aims to develop and validate screening and diagnostic tools for DSM-5 eating disorders, and to determine how to best implement these tools for treatment referral.

Role: PI


W81XWH1810697 Mitchell; Cooper (Multi-PIs) 09/30/2018-9/29/2021

Department of Defense (DoD)

Eating Disorders in Veterans: Prevalence, Comorbidity, Risk, and Healthcare Use

This project will establish apost-9/11 cohort of Veterans to: 1) examine the prevalence of full/subthreshold eating disorders by gender and other subgroups, 2) examine temporal associations with comorbid disorders, 3) document treatment patterns and healthcare preferences, and 4) identify barriers to care.

Role: Subaward PI


CIN 13-407, LIP 96-028 Masheb (PI) 06/01/2017-9/30/2018

VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D)

Virtual Treatment for Healthy Eating and Stress Management in Veteran Cancer Survivors

This study aims to test the feasibility, acceptability and initial efficacy of a virtual, patient-centered treatment for healthy eating and stress management/resiliency for Veteran cancer survivors.

Role: PI


IIR 15-349 Masheb (PI) 08/01/2017-07/30/2022

VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D)

Weight Loss Treatment and CBT for Veterans with Binge Eating

This multisite randomized controlled trial aims to reduce binge eating, improve mental health, and enhance weight loss response in Veterans who are overweight/obese. The project leverages the VA’s national weight management program by combining it with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), the best-established treatment for binge eating.

Role: PI


QUE 15-286 Lowery (PI) 10/01/2015-09/30/2020

VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI)

PrOVE: Personalizing Options through Veteran Engagement

The goal of this project is to rapidly implement effective clinical practices into the existing VA national weight management program. Practices emphasize personalized care, shared decision-making, self-management, and patient-centered performance systems.

Role: Co-Investigator


CIN 13-407 Bastian (PI) 10/01/2013-09/30/2018

VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D)

Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities, and Education (PRIME) Center of Innovation

The PRIME Center is one of VA’s 19 national Health Services Research & Delivery Centers of Innovation (COINs). As Director of Education, I lead the national mentoring, dissemination and educational initiatives. The Center aims to enhance local and national capacities for a broad research and education agenda focused on pain and related comorbidities, particularly obesity.

Role: Director of Education


COMPLETED RESEARCH (past 3 years)

1R01CA180030-01 deAraujo; Small (Multi-PIs) 09/01/2013-06/30/2017

NIH/NIDDK

The Gut-Brain Axis: A Novel Target for Treating Behavioral Alterations in Obesity

The overall aim of the project is to determine whether gut N-Acylethanolamines precursors rescue striatal function and reduce impulsivity scores in a series of basic and translational trials of subjects with altered diets and weight. As subaward PI I oversee the weight loss and weight maintenance trial used in the translational study of humans for this project.

Role: Sub-award PI

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Bariatric Surgery; Binge-Eating Disorder; Body Image; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Eating; Evidence-Based Medicine; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Health Behavior; Obesity; Overweight; Pain; Psychiatry; Veterans

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Robin Masheb's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2020

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Department of Defense (DoD), Congressional Directed Medical Research Program

  • activity

    Eating Behaviors

  • activity

    VA Central Office, Eating Disorder Work Group

  • activity

    VA Central Office, National Program for Weight Management, MOVE!

  • activity

    VA Connecticut Psychology Internship Program

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Mailing Address

Psychiatry

VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Avenue

West Haven, CT 06516

United States

Locations

  • VA PRIME Center of Innovation (COIN)

    Lab

    VA Connecticut Healthcare

    950 Campbell Avenue

    West Haven, CT 06516

  • Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight (The VIEW)

    Lab

    VA Connecticut Healthcare

    950 Campbell Avenue

    West Haven, CT 06516