DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
Center for Weight and Eating Disorders

Kelly Costello Allison, Ph.D.

Kelly C. Allison, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Co-Director of Education at the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders. She received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in 1995 and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Miami University in 1997 and 2000, respectively.

Dr. Allison's research interests include characterizing and treating the Night Eating Syndrome and the role of weight and eating behaviors on reproductive health. Dr. Allison co-leads didactic seminars for pre-doctoral psychology practicum students and supervises their clinical work. She serves as a faculty mentor for undergraduate and medical student research projects. Dr. Allison also enjoys providing cognitive behavioral therapy services related to weight loss and disordered eating through the Stunkard Weight Management Program and pre-operative bariatric surgery psychological evaluations.

Dr. Allison is active in the Academy for Eating Disorders, where she is Co-chair of the Position Paper Committee, and the Obesity Society.  She has published in peer-reviewed journals and has presented her work at various professional meetings. 

Dr. Allison can be contacted at: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3535 Market St., Suite 3021, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309, 215-898-7314. Her e-mail address is kca@mail.med.upenn.edu.

Recent publications include:

Allison KC, Crow SJ, Reeves RR, West DS, Foreyt JP, DiLillo VG, Wadden TA, Jeffery RW, Van Dorsten B, Stunkard AJ and the Eating Disorders Subgroup of the Look AHEAD Research Group. The prevalence of binge eating disorder and night eating syndrome in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Obesity, 2007; 15:1285-1291.

Allison KC, Lundgren JD, O’Reardon JP, Geliebter A, Gluck ME, Vinai P, Mitchell JE, Schenck CH, Howell MJ, Crow SJ, Engel S, Latzer Y, Tzischinsky O, Mahowald MW, Stunkard AJ.  Proposed diagnostic criteria for night eating syndrome. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2009 Apr 17, Epub ahead of print.

Allison KC, Lundgren JD, O’Reardon JP, Martino NS, Sarwer DB, Wadden TA, Crosby RD, Engel SG, Stunkard AJ. The Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ): psychometric properties of a measure of severity of the night eating syndrome. Eating Behaviors, 2008; 9:62-72.

Goel N, Stunkard AJ, Rogers NL, Van Dongen HPA, Allison KC, O’Reardon JP, Ahima RS, Cummings DE, Heo M, Dinges DF.  Circadian rhythm profiles in women with night eating syndrome.  Journal of Biological Rhythms, 2009; 24:85-94.

Lundgren JD, Amsterdam J, Newberg A, Allison KC, Wintering N, Stunkard AJ.  Differences in serotonin transporter binding affinity in patients with major depressive disorder and night eating syndrome.  Eating and Weight Disorders, 2009; 14:45-50.