- Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor
- Office of the Provost and College of Nursing
- Phone: 401.874.4341
- Email: bwolfe@uri.edu
Biography
Dr. Barbara Wolfe’s area of research focuses on the clinical symptoms and implications for intervention and relapse prevention in women with eating disorders. She has been the recipient of federal and foundation funding to support her research. She has widely disseminated this work through publications and national and international presentations.
Dr. Wolfe has received many awards throughout her career including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellowship and Psychiatric Nurse of the Year from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. She is a member of the American Academy of Nursing, the Eating Disorder Research Society, and Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society for Nursing. She is a past president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and has served on numerous national committees including the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) Eating Disorders Workgroup and as a former chair of the NIH Nursing and Related Clinical Sciences Study Section. Dr. Wolfe is currently a member of the editorial board for the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.
Research
Eating disorders; dieting behavior; mental health
Education
PhD, Nursing Science, Boston College
MSN, Nursing, Yale University
BSN, Nursing, Syracuse University
Selected Publications
Kells, M., Gregas, M., Wolfe, B. E., Garber, A., & Kelly-Weeder, S. (in press). Factors Associated with Refeeding Hypophosphatemia in Adolescents and Young Adults Hospitalized with Anorexia Nervosa. Nutrition in Clinical Practice.
Wolfe, B. E., Kelly-Weeder, S., Willis, D. G., & Leveillee M. (2021). Characterizing loss of control associated with binge eating in college-age men. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. https://doi.org:10.1177/1078390320987609 [online ahead of print]
Dunne, J. P., Shindul-Rothschild, J., White, L., Lee, C. S., & Wolfe, B. E. (2000). Mindfulness in persons with anorexia nervosa and the relationships between eating disorder symptomology, anxiety, and pain. Eating Disorders: Journal of Treatment & Prevention. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2019.1688009
Kelly-Weeder, S. & Wolfe, B. E. (2019). Extreme weight loss behaviors in urban minority youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64, 276-278. https://doi.org:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.08.32
Kelly-Welder, S., Willis, D. G., Lopez, L., Sacco, B., Wolfe, B. E. (2019). Binge eating and loss of control in college-age women. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 25, 172-180. https://doi.org:10.1177/10783903119829814 [editor’s selection for inclusion in the International Academy of Nurse Editors Virtual Journal]
Keel, P. K., Haedt-Matt, A. A., Hildebrandt, B., Bodell, L. P., Wolfe, B. E., & Jimerson, D. C. (2018). Satiation deficits and binge eating: Probing differences between bulimia nervosa and purging disorder using an ad lib test meal. Appetite, 127, 119-125. https://doi.org:10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.009
Jennings, K. M., Gregas, M., & Wolfe, B. E. (2018). Trajectories of change in body weight during inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 24, 306-313. https://doi.org:10.1177/1078390317726142
Phillips, K. E., Jimerson, D. C., Pillai, A., & Wolfe, B. E. (2016). Plasma BDNF levels following weight recovery in anorexia nervosa. Physiology & Behavior, 165, 300-303. https://doi.org:10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.08.014
Cousins, A., Freizinger, M., Duffy, M. E., Gregas, M., & Wolfe, B. E. (2015). Self-report of eating disorder symptoms among women with and without infertility. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 44, 380-08. https://doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12573
Hannon-Engel, S., Filin, E. E., & Wolfe, B. E. (2013). CCK response in bulimia nervosa and following remission. Physiology & Behavior, 122, 56-61. https://doi.org:10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.08.014
Kelly-Weeder, S., Jennings, K., & Wolfe, B. E. (2012). Gender differences in binge eating and behavioral correlates among college students. Eating & Weight Disorders, 17, e200-e202. https://doi.org:10.1007/BF03325348
Wolfe, B. E., Jimerson, D. C., Smith, A. T., & Keel, P. K. (2011). Serum amylase in bulimia nervosa and purging disorder: Differentiating the association with binge eating versus purging behavior. Physiology & Behavior, 104, 684-686. https://doi.org:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.06.025
Jimerson, D. C., Wolfe, B. E., Carroll, D. P., & Keel, P. K. (2010). Psychobiology of purging disorder: Reduction in circulating leptin levels in comparison to controls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(7), 584-588. https://doi.org:10.1002/eat.20738
Wolfe, B. E., Baker, C. W., Smith, A. T., & Kelly-Weeder, S. (2009). Validity and utility of current definition of binge eating. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 42, 674-686. https://doi.org:10.1002/eat.20728
Wolfe, B. E., Jimerson, D. C., Orlova, C., & Mantzoros, C. S. (2004). Effect of dieting on plasma leptin, soluble leptin receptor, adiponectin and resistin levels in healthy volunteers. Clinical Endocrinology, 61, 332-338. https://doi.org:10.1111/j.1365-2265.2004.02101.x
Wolfe, B. E., Metzger, E. D., Levine, J. M., & Jimerson, D. C. (2001). Laboratory screening for electrolyte abnormalities and anemia in bulimia nervosa: A controlled study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30, 288-293. https://doi.org:10.1002/eat.1086
Wolfe, B. E., Metzger, E. D., Levine, J. M., Finkelstein, D. M., Cooper, T. B., & Jimerson, D. C. (2000). Serotonin function following remission from bulimia nervosa. Neuropsychopharmacology, 22, 257-263. https://doi.org:10.1016/S0893-133X(99)00117-7
Wolfe, B. E., Metzger, E. D., & Stollar, C. (1997). The effects of dieting on plasma tryptophan concentration and food intake in healthy women. Physiology & Behavior, 61, 537-541. https://doi.org:10.1016/S0031-9384(96)00497-0
Jimerson, D. C., Wolfe, B. E., Metzger, E. D., Finkelstein, D. M., Cooper, T. B., & Levine, J. M. (1997). Decreased serotonin function in bulimia nervosa. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 529-534. https://doi.org:10.1001/archpsyc.1997.01830180043005
Wolfe, B. E., Metzger, E. D., & Jimerson, D. C. (1995). Comparison of the effects of amino acid mixture and placebo on plasma tryptophan to large neutral amino acid ratio. Life Sciences, 56, 1395-1400. https://doi.org:10.1016/0024-3205(95)00103-4
Wolfe, B.E., Jimerson, D. C., & Levine, J. M. (1994). Impulsivity ratings in bulimia nervosa: Relationship to binge eating behaviors. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 15, 289-292. https://doi.org:10.1002/1098-108X(199404)15:33.0.CO;2-U