Ariana M. Chao, PhD, RN, CRNP

Ariana M. Chao, PhD, RN, CRNP
Ariana M. Chao, PhD, RN, CRNP

Ariana M. Chao, Ph.D., RN, CRNP is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (primary appointment) and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (secondary appointment). She earned her BSN and MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Boston College and her PhD in Nursing Science from Yale University. Her predoctoral training was supported by an institutional fellowship on self- and family-management (NINR/NIH T32NR008346) and an individual fellowship (NINR/NIH F31NR014375) for her research on stress, binge eating, and metabolic abnormalities. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health promotion research in vulnerable women, children and families (NINR/NIH T32NR007100) at the University of Pennsylvania.                                                        

Dr. Chao’s research interests include identifying biobehavioral mechanisms related to binge eating and obesity. She is particularly interested in the roles of food cravings, addiction, stress, impulsivity, and reward. She is also interested in developing innovative ways to improve the treatment of binge eating disorder and obesity. In Dr. Chao’s current clinical practice, she provides medical management for participants enrolled in research studies at the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders.

Dr. Chao can be contacted at:
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
418 Curie Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Telephone: 215-746-7183
Email: AriChao@nursing.upenn.edu 

Recent Publications

Chao, A. M., Shaw, J. A., Pearl, R. L., Alamuddin, N., Hopkins, C. M., Bakizada, Z. M., Berkowitz, R. I., & Wadden, T. A. (2019). Effects of addictive-like eating behaviors on weight loss with behavioral obesity treatment. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 42(2), 246-255.

Chao, A. M., Wadden, T. A., Walsh, O. A., Gruber, K. A., Alamuddin, N., Berkowitz, R. I., & Tronieri, J. S. (In press). Perceptions of a large amount of food based on binge-eating disorder diagnosis. International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Chao, A. M., Wadden, T. A., Tronieri, J. S., Berkowitz, R. I. (2019). Alcohol intake and weight loss during an intensive lifestyle intervention for adults with overweight/obesity and diabetes. Obesity, 27(1), 30-40.

Chao, A. M., Jastreboff, A. M., White, M. A., Grilo, C. M., & Sinha, R. (2017). Stress, cortisol, and other appetite-related hormones: Prospective prediction of 6-month changes in food cravings and weight. Obesity, 25(4), 713-720.

Chao, A. M., Loughead, J., Bakizada, Z. M., Hopkins, C. M., Geliebter, A., Gur, R. C., & Wadden, T. A. (2017). Sex/gender differences in neural correlates of food stimuli: A systematic review of functional neuroimaging studies. Obesity Reviews, 18(6), 687-699.


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