Tera Fazzino, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor
- Associate Director, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment
Contact Info
Lawrence
1415 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045
Biography —
As a translational research scientist, my overarching goal is to identify mechanisms contributing to health risk as informed by both clinical and experimental methods. I have a PhD in Experimental Psychology and a M.A. in Clinical Practices in Psychology, which provides me a unique perspective on health risk behavior and informs my approach to asking research questions. My work has focused on using insights from addiction science and behavioral economics to understand reward-seeking behaviors (e.g., alcohol use and binge eating), their health risks, and key environmental factors that may contribute to risk.
Education —
Research —
My research program leverages insights from addiction science and behavioral economics to examine the potential addictive qualities of hyper-palatable foods, their public health harms, and potential solutions at the food environment level (e.g., regulatory action). My work also examines common factors that may drive health risk behaviors (e.g., risky alcohol use, binge eating) among young adults, and potential behavioral approaches to reducing potential health consequences.
Teaching —
I typically teach courses on topics related to neurobiology, behavior, and health.
Selected Publications —
Jun, D,* Knowles, K,** & Fazzino, TL (2025) Examination of hyper-palatable foods and their nutrient characteristics using globally crowdsourced data. PLoS ONE 20(5): e0325479. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325479
Jun, D,* Soo, J, & Fazzino, TL (2025) Beyond general food craving: Sex differences in food-specific craving identified using item response theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 16:1588999. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1588999
Jun, D,* Girard, J, Martin, CA, & Fazzino, TL (2025) The role of hyper-palatable foods on energy intake measured using mobile food photography methodology. Eating Behaviors, 57, 101983. DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.101983
Rips-Goodwin, A,** Jun, D,* Griebel-Thomas, A, Kong, KL, & Fazzino, TL (2025) Infant Formulas sold in the United States Contain Primarily Added Sugars: Findings from an Empirical Analysis of Infant Formula Products. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 141:107369. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2025.107369
Bellitti, J,* L’Insalata, AM,* & Fazzino, TL (2025) Discounting of hyper-palatable foods is associated with eating motives and binge eating behavior. Nutrients, 17(8), 1356. DOI: 10.3390/nu17081356
Awards & Honors —
2024 Faculty of the Year Award from the Kansas Board of Regents for the Tenure-Track Category, University of Kansas
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
- COBRE Pilot Award (PI: Fazzino), from COBRE Leveraging Big Data to Improve Women's Health (PI Desaire, H)
Funding agency: National Institute on General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Title: Examining discrepancies in hyper-palatable food availability across low versus high food access regions in the US
Status: Funded ($100,000)
Dates: 1/2025-12/2025 - NSF 2236389 Convergence Accelerator Grant Phase II (PI: Schmidt)
Funding agency: National Science Foundation (NSF)/ United States Department of Agriculture
Title: Network of User-Engaged Researchers Building Interdisciplinary Scientific Infrastructures for Healthy Food (NOURISH)
Role: Co-Investigator
Status: Funded ($5,000,000)
Dates: 1/2024-12/2027 - R34 MH134930-01 (PI: Forbush)
Funding agency: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Title: Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students (BEST-U): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an mHealth Intervention for Binge-Spectrum Disorders
Role: Co-Investigator
Status: Funded ($750,000)
Dates: 1/2025-12/2028 - UL1 TR0002366-07 (PI: Castro)
Funding agency: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Title: Frontiers: University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science
Role: Team Science Co-Lead
Status: Funded
Dates: 07/2022-06/2027