Laura E. Durso, 2011-2013 Public Policy Fellow

Laura E. Durso holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, where she also earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology. While at the University of Hawai’i, she taught the Department of Psychology’s first seminar on LGBT psychology. She was also among the inaugural attendees at the 2008 International LGBT Psychology Summer Institute at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include the psychological impacts of discrimination on stigmatized groups, particularly in the areas of eating and weight-related concerns and internalized bias. Her doctoral dissertation explored the relationship of internalized weight bias to weight change among adults enrolled in behavioral weight loss treatment. Her research has been published in several high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including Obesity, The International Journal of Obesity, and the International Journal of Eating Disorders. She presented her research on the association between perceived discrimination and eating disturbance among obese populations and gay, lesbian and bisexual populations at the 2010 International Conference on Eating Disorders in Salzburg, Austria. Prior to working at the Williams Institute, Laura worked at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – Pacific Islands Division and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Harvard University.