About this course

Learning Objectives

• Describe the emerging evidence for the use of ketogenic metabolic therapy in psychiatric illness.
• Assess the potential for ketogenic metabolic therapy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa.
• Explain the rationale for addressing metabolism as a therapeutic target in anorexia nervosa.

Learning Levels

• Intermediate
• Advanced

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Julie Milder, PhD

  Julie Milder, PhD is currently the Director of Neuroscience for Baszucki Group, a private family foundation, overseeing the metabolic psychiatry research portfolio. Dr. Milder's career spans experience in neuroscience across academia, grantmaking, scientific strategy, and the pharmaceutical industry. Her academic research focused on the effects of a ketogenic diet on mitochondrial function and antioxidant response, exploring its role as a therapy for pediatric-onset epilepsy. It is this foundation that eventually led her to Baszucki Group to work on the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. In this role, Dr. Milder works with clinicians, researchers, and experts by experience around the globe on projects to generate evidence for the use of metabolic therapies in serious mental illness, integrate research into clinical care for metabolic psychiatry, and speak as an advocate for the science in the community.

• 

  Guido Frank, MD

  Dr. Frank is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist. He earned his medical degree at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. He trained in psychosomatics at the Center for Behavioral Health Klinik Roseneck, Prien, Germany, and then received clinical and research training at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California San Diego, USA. He holds an appointment as professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Frank has done extensive post-graduate work on the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders and has also received extensive certified training in cognitive behavioral and other psychotherapies. He is an expert consultant to local and national law firms. He has received multiple awards, including an NIH Minority Access to Research Career Program (NIMH) Mentor Recognition award and the Eating Disorder Foundation Greg Hueni Memorial Award for excellence in research. Dr. Frank’s work involves human neuroimaging and tasks that are based on animal research with the goal of identifying specific neurotransmitter receptor systems that are relevant for eating disorder behaviors. Dr. Frank has been funded through the National Institute of Mental Health and multiple private foundation grants for the past fifteen years. His overarching goal is to develop translational research designs that bridge clinical presentation with neuroscience to develop more effective treatments for eating disorders to develop preventative measures, improve recovery and prevent relapse.

References

• Scolnick, B., Zupec-Kania, B., Calabrese, L., Aoki, C., & Hildebrandt, T. (2020). Remission from chronic anorexia nervosa with ketogenic diet and ketamine: case report. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 763. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00763
• Andreazza, A. C., Barros, L. F., Behnke, A., Ben-Shachar, D., Berretta, S., Chouinard, V. A., ... & Weistuch, C. (2025). Brain and body energy metabolism and potential for treatment of psychiatric disorders. Nature Mental Health, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-025-00422-6
• Dong, Y., Lin, Y., Khatri, L., Chao, M., & Aoki, C. (2025). Ketogenic Food Ameliorates Activity‐Based Anorexia of Adult Female Mice. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 58(2), 317-335. doi:10.1002/eat.24323