CoRe-ED: a global collaboration for eating disorders research
Professor Gemma Sharp, founding director and member of CoRe-ED, is the pathfinder our field needs
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By Gemma Sharp
CoRe-ED: a global collaboration for eating disorders research
A recent article published on this blog (Imagine a Global Board for Eating Disorders) proposed an international governing body that would bring together experts, voices from lived experience, advocates, and industry leaders to tackle the complexities of eating disorders.
That vision is no longer an idea. It’s a reality.
To our knowledge, the Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders (CoRe-ED) is a first-of-its-kind international initiative launched in September 2024 to unite everyone involved in eating disorder research and treatment.
CoRe-ED is a free, global network connecting researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience, advocates, carers, and industry representatives.
Eating disorders: a global challenge in need of a worldwide solution
Eating disorders are complex, and addressing them requires global collaboration across disciplines, countries, and perspectives. Research and treatment efforts have been fragmented and siloed for too long, leaving gaps in knowledge, care, and support. CoRe-ED aims to bridge these gaps, not just imagining change, but working to make it happen.
Eating disorders affect around 8 per cent of the world’s population, impacting people of all ages, genders, body sizes, sexualities, and cultural backgrounds. Despite their widespread and devastating impact, eating disorders remain underfunded, under-researched, and often misunderstood and stigmatised.
There is still much we don’t know about eating disorders. Researchers have yet to fully understand how genetic, biological, psychological, and social factors interact to cause and maintain eating disorders. Existing treatments don’t work for everyone, and there are currently no effective treatments for some. Most importantly, the voices of those most affected, individuals with lived experience and their families, have too often been excluded from research and decision-making.
This has to change. And it will; assisted by CoRe-ED.
CoRe-ED: bringing the world’s experts together
CoRe-ED was created because no single person, country, or organisation can solve eating disorders alone. The best way to drive progress is through collaboration. Since its launch, hundreds of members from over 20 countries have joined, including:
- People with lived experience, who ensure that research reflects real-world challenges and real-world issues within their countries.
- Clinicians, who bring frontline insights into what works and what doesn’t.
- Researchers, who push the boundaries of what we know.
- Advocates and not-for-profits, who fight for better policies and awareness.
- Industry leaders, who translate research into real-world impact.
With all of these voices at the table, CoRe-ED is working to create a future where research doesn’t just live in academic journals, it leads to real, effective change.
CoRe-ED’s global network of partners
Collaboration is at the core of CoRe-ED, and our international partners play a crucial role in advancing eating disorder research, treatment, and advocacy. Spanning universities, healthcare institutions, advocacy groups, and digital health innovators, these partnerships drive cutting-edge research, clinical advancements, and global awareness initiatives. Our key partners include:
- Leading academic institutions include the University of Queensland (Australia), Monash University (Malaysia), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, and the University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (Japan).
- Healthcare and clinical research leaders, including Alfred Health (Australia), Clinical Microbiomics (Global), and Monash University Low FODMAP Diet™ (Australia)
- Lived experience and advocacy organisations, such as the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (Canada), Rabbits in Submarines Collective (South Korea), Animenta (Italy), Bodywhys and Mind EveryBody (Ireland), Comenzar de Nuevo A.C. (Latin America), and Students of Brain Research (Australia).
- Technology and digital health pioneers, including Microsoft (Australia & New Zealand), Recovery Record by Bright (Global), and eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC, Global)
Through these strategic partnerships, CoRe-ED is bridging gaps across research, clinical care, and advocacy, ensuring a truly global approach to eating disorder prevention and treatment.
What’s coming up for CoRe-ED in 2025
CoRe-ED has an exciting lineup of events in 2025, bringing together researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience, and advocates worldwide. Throughout the year, we will host and collaborate on webinars, awareness campaigns, and special events exploring cutting-edge research, cultural perspectives, and innovative approaches to eating disorder care.
Highlights include:
- International partnerships with organisations in South Korea and Japan, featuring discussions on eating disorder treatment and research in diverse cultural contexts.
- A focus on the intersection of eating disorders and gut health, with a special campaign in collaboration with Monash FODMAP for Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month.
- Advancements in digital health with a webinar hosted alongside Bright Therapeutics and the eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC).
- Our most significant milestone yet, the CoRe-ED One-Year Anniversary Celebration in September 2025!
These events are open to all; many will offer live participation and recordings for those who can’t attend in real time.
For full event details, speaker line-ups, and registration links, visit and stay connected with us throughout the year!
Join CoRe-ED: be part of the solution
CoRe-ED is free to join and open to anyone who wants to shape the future of eating disorder research. Whether you are a researcher, clinician, advocate, or someone with lived experience, your voice matters, and your contributions can help drive meaningful change. Now is the time to join the movement, drive change, and help to shape the future of eating disorder treatment.
Click here to find out more and become a member today.
If a group/organisation is interested in partnering with CoRe-ED, encourage them to email CoRe-ED here: hello @ core-ed.com.au
With CoRe-ED, the global collaboration we have always imagined is here. It is beginning.
I’m a professor, researcher and clinical psychologist, passionate about bridging the worlds of science, treatment and lived experience in eating disorders. I began my career in biomedical science, earned my master’s in oncology from the University of Cambridge, and later completed a PhD in clinical psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide.
Since then, I’ve established and led the body image and eating disorders research program (2018-), worked in leadership roles in hospitals and established a private psychology practice (2019-). In late 2023, I conceived CoRe-ED – and in 2024, it was officially launched with the support of many wonderful colleagues and contributors.
I believe that when we come together across disciplines, experiences, and borders, real change becomes possible. CoRe-ED is my way of walking that belief into reality – and I’m so grateful to be doing this work alongside you.
Let’s keep building, dreaming, and transforming what’s possible in eating disorder research and care – together.