Tanja Kral, Ph.D.

School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, 418 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4217

tkral@nursing.upenn.edu

(215) 573-7512

Tanja V.E. Kral, Ph.D., is the Ellen and Robert Kapito Endowed Professor and Professor of Nutrition Science in the School of Nursing (primary appointment) and in the Perelman School of Medicine (secondary appointment). She also co-directs the School of Nursing’s Graduate Nutrition Programs. Dr. Kral received her M.S. (2001) and Ph.D. (2003) in Nutritional Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University.

A nutrition scientist with training in the study of human ingestive behavior, Dr. Kral’s NIH-funded research focuses on the cognitive, sensory, and nutritional controls of appetite and eating in children and adults and their relevance to obesity, a unique juxtaposition of behavioral, genetic, experimental, and technology-based research methods in the study of human ingestive behavior. The overarching goal of her interdisciplinary research program is to advance the prevention and treatment of obesity by identifying behavioral phenotypes for obesity as an innovative approach for the development of more personalized obesity prevention and treatment interventions that are tailored to individual predispositions (precision nutrition). She also aims to develop evidence-based strategies that promote healthy eating in children with autism spectrum disorder through personalized technology-based interventions.

Links:

• School of Nursing Bio page
• Master of Science in Nutrition Science page

Recent publications include:  

• Johnson SL, Moody EJ, Kral TVE, Dahl E, Withrow NA, Levy SE, Reynolds AM, Robinson Rosenberg C (2025). A multi-site community-based, case-control study to examine the nutrient intake adequacy of young children with and without developmental delays and other disorders: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, in press.   
• Abene J, Tyburski S, Kral TVE, Quinn R, Deng J (2025). Diet as an adjunct therapy in reducing chemotherapy toxicities and improving patient quality of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition and Cancer, 77(3): 341-359.   
• Slater CN, Schroeder K, Fultz A, Kuschner ES, O’Malley L, Johnson K, Benvenuti T, Chittams J, Quinn RJ, Graham Thomas JG, Pinto-Martin J, Levy SE, Kral TVE (2024). Insights from user experience and evaluation of a mobile health nutrition intervention for children with autism: a qualitative study. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 37(6): 1439-1353.
• Reigh NA, Pearce AL, Rolls BJ, Kral TVE, Hetherington MM, Romano O, Keller KL (2023). Inter-individual differences in children’s short term energy compensation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 118(6): 1202-1213.