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Nancy Lee Zucker

Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry
Box 3454 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
2608 Erwin Rd Ste 300, Durham, NC 27705
Office hours https://zuckerdukespring25.youcanbook.me/  

Overview


Our laboratory studies individuals who have difficulty detecting, interpreting, and/or using signals from their body to guide adaptive behavior towards themselves and their environment.  We explore how disruptions in these capacities contribute to psychosomatic disorders such as functional abdominal pain or anorexia nervosa and how the adaptive development of these capacities helps individuals to know themselves, trust themselves, and flourish.

Our primary populations of study are individuals struggling with eating disorders and feeding disorders of childhood: conditions that are sine quo non for dysregulation of basic motivational drives or conditions in which disruption in these processes may be more likely: such as the presence of pediatric pain. Several conditions are of particular focus due to the presence of profound deficits in interoception or/and integration of internal arousal: anorexia nervosa, a disorder notable for extreme, determined, rigid, and repetitive behaviors promoting malnourishment and the inability to use signals of interoception and proprioception in the service of goal-directed actions, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), children with "sensory superpowers" who may be hypersensitive to somatic signals and external sensory features; and pediatric functional abdominal pain, children who may become afraid of their bodies' messages due to generalization of fear of pain to innocuous sensations. Study of children allows us to ask different questions about disorder etiology, maintenance, and course as we can minimize the impact of malnutrition on brain function and perhaps better characterize prior learning history. What we most passionate about is using this conceptualization to design and test novel treatments that enable individuals across the lifespan to feel safe in their bodies and to achieve this in a way that is fun.

Our parallel line of research examines how individuals’ sense others when they have difficulties sensing themselves. Increasing evidence suggests that we understand others via embodied enactments of our own experiences. These findings have profound implications for individuals who have dysfunction in the experience of their bodies as it suggests limited capacities to truly understand others’ experiences. By studying these processes in parallel, we hope to better understand how this interaction between sensing ourselves and others unfolds.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2021 - Present Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2021 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2021 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Affiliate of the Center for Brain Imaging and Analysis · 2007 - Present Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published April 14, 2025
Are You a Perfectionist? Here’s Help.
Published October 15, 2024
Meeting of the Minds in Two Departments
Published April 11, 2024
Spring Books by Duke Authors: Meditations, Baseball, Rebels and Stomach Pains

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Recent Publications


A US-Based Consensus on Diagnostic Overlap and Distinction for Pediatric Feeding Disorder and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.

Journal Article Int J Eat Disord · March 2025 OBJECTIVE: As diagnoses covering dysfunctional feeding and eating in pediatrics, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) contain inherent areas of overlap in their diagnostic criteria. Areas of overlap include ... Full text Link to item Cite

Interactive cooking lessons improve attitudes towards food and weight statuses among preschool children

Journal Article Health Education Journal · March 1, 2025 Objective: Data demonstrate that children in the USA eat below the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, which has been linked with increased risk of obesity and low weight. Previous school-based interventions promoting healthy eating and enjoyment ... Full text Cite

Using Parks and Recreation Providers to Enhance Obesity Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Journal Article Pediatrics · February 10, 2025 OBJECTIVE: Intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment (IHBLT) is recommended for children aged 6-18 years with obesity. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of Fit Together, a health care and parks and recreation partnership to deliver IH ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Duke-NCCU Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Training Program in Child Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Conditions Program (DN-IPT)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Duke University Psychiatry Physician-Scientist Residency Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health · 2024 - 2029

Anxiety and Interoception Risk for Eating Disorders in Childhood

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc. · 2023 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge · 2000 Ph.D.