Bio

I am a Medical Degree candidate at Stanford University. I am originally from Milford, New Jersey. In 2021, I graduated with a bachelors degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. I am interested in pursuing a career in eating disorder treatment and research. I am also the co-founder and CEO of a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization called Body Empowerment Project. We deliver educational workshops related to body image and self-esteem to Philadelphia public school students using a near-peer mentorship model and a validated body-positive curriculum.

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Student Department: School of Medicine Position: Graduate, Medicine

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5719

All Publications

  • Enhancing Distress Tolerance Skills in Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa Through the BALANCE Mobile App: Feasibility and Acceptability Study. JMIR formative research Miranda, C., Matheson, B., Datta, N., Whyte, A., Yang, H. J., Schmiedmayer, P., Ravi, V., Aalami, O., Lock, J. 2025; 9: e70278

    Abstract

    Anorexia nervosa is a severe psychiatric disorder with high morbidity and mortality, particularly among adolescents. Family-based treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based intervention for adolescent anorexia nervosa, involving parents in renourishment and behavior interruption. Despite its effectiveness, challenges in distress tolerance and emotion regulation during high-stress situations, such as mealtimes, contribute to suboptimal treatment outcomes, with only 35% to 50% of adolescents achieving full recovery. Enhancing distress tolerance skills during FBT may improve treatment responses and recovery rates. The BALANCE mobile app was developed to address this need, offering real-time, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)-based distress tolerance skills to support adolescents and families during mealtimes.Our aim was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile app designed to deliver distress tolerance skills to adolescents with and adolescents without anorexia nervosa. When fully programmed and optimized, we plan to use the mobile app to improve distress tolerance during mealtimes for adolescents with anorexia nervosa undergoing FBT.BALANCE was developed collaboratively with Stanford University's Center for Biodesign, leveraging the expertise of clinical psychologists and using biodesign student input and the Stanford Spezi ecosystem. The app underwent an iterative development process, with feedback from adolescent users. The initial feasibility and acceptability of the app were assessed through self-reported questionnaires and structured interviews with 24 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, including 4 diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and 20 healthy controls. Adolescents with anorexia nervosa specifically used the app during mealtimes, and healthy controls used it as needed. Participants assessed the app's usability, perceived effectiveness, and its impact on their distress tolerance.The app demonstrated high usability and acceptability. Of 24 participants, 83% (n=20) reported enjoying the app, 88% (n=21) would recommend it to peers, and 100% (n=24) found it user-friendly. Adolescents with anorexia nervosa reported that BALANCE helped them manage stressful mealtimes more effectively, highlighting features such as guided meditation, breathing exercises, and gamification elements as particularly effective. Healthy controls provided additional feedback, confirming the app's broad appeal to the target audience and potential scalability. Preliminary findings suggest that BALANCE may enhance distress tolerance in adolescents with and adolescents without anorexia nervosa.BALANCE shows promise as an innovative mobile health intervention for enhancing distress tolerance in adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Its user-friendly design and tailored DBT-based skills make it a feasible tool for integration into FBT. Future research should explore its integration into clinical practice and its impact on treatment outcomes. As distress tolerance skills are relevant to a range of mental health conditions, future research may also expand BALANCE's application to broader adolescent populations.

    View details for DOI 10.2196/70278

    View details for PubMedID 40019817

  • Considering Dialysis in Octogenarians and Nonagenarians Living With Kidney Failure. American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation Miranda, C. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.1053/j.ajkd.2024.06.013

    View details for PubMedID 39373685

  • Anorexia Nervosa Across the Lifespan: A Review of Recent Literature. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) Datta, N., Hossepian, K., Xie, I., Gurcan, H. Y., Behr, S., Pouliadi, M., Miranda, C. 2024; 22 (3): 269-277

    Abstract

    In this review, the authors provide an update on the understanding of anorexia nervosa (AN) across the lifespan. Focusing on key pieces of literature from the past 5 years, this review summarizes recent updates to DSM-5 within the domain of AN, including the addition of a new AN diagnosis: atypical anorexia. Additional sections covered in this review include improvements in the epidemiological understanding of AN across the developmental spectrum, treatment approaches that have been established as gold standard as well as new directions recently explored in treatment, and recent advancements in the biopsychosocial underpinnings of AN. Altogether, although this review captures several advancements in the field's overall conceptualization of AN, several key areas of treatment and diagnostic capacity continue to require additional focus and research.

    View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.focus.20230037

    View details for PubMedID 38988469

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11231474

  • BODY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT: EATING DISORDER PREVENTION IN YOUTH Miranda, C. M., Garcia, A., Watts, C. L., Timko, C. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2023: S299

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.09.449

    View details for Web of Science ID 001098830401299