Rachel W. Goode is an associate professor in Health Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Social Work, with adjunct roles at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute and the Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Eating Disorders Excellence. She received her PhD and MPH from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017, MSW in 2006 from the same university, and BA from Wheaton College in 2003. A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), Goode has practiced in university counseling centers and community agencies, treating eating disorders and obesity. She joined UNC-Chapel Hill in 2017, founding the Living F.R.E.E. Lab, and was promoted to associate professor in July 2024. Appointed Wallace Kuralt Early Career Distinguished Scholar, she also serves as a faculty mentor for the UNC Center for Eating Disorders Excellence Summer Research Fellowship.

Goode’s research in Health Science centers on equitable, community-engaged interventions for obesity and eating disorders, with a focus on binge eating and health disparities among Black women. Her NIH-funded K23 Career Development Award supports developing the culturally tailored LISTEN digital tool to enhance appetite awareness and address binge eating. She recently received the American Diabetes Association’s 2025 Pathway to Stop Diabetes grant to pilot a program preventing type 2 diabetes in at-risk Black emergent adult women. With over $1.7 million in funding since 2017 from NIH, National Eating Disorders Association, and others, her work provides pioneering evidence for behavioral treatments in this population. Notable awards include the 2023 Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research, Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and Oprah Civic Leadership Award. Select publications: “Binge eating and binge-eating disorder in Black women: A systematic review” (International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2020); “A review of binge-eating disorder in black women: treatment recommendations...” (Current Psychiatry Reports, 2022); “The Impact of COVID-19 on Black Women who Binge Eat” (Eating and Weight Disorders, 2022).

Professional Email: rwgoode@email.unc.edu