Sydney Kong

Graduate Student

Contact Info

sydneykong@ku.edu

Fraser Hall - Clinical Psychology
1415 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045

Biography —

Sydney Kong is currently a third-year graduate student in KU’s Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Sydney previously conducted independent research examining weight stigma resilience, treatment outcomes for binge eating disorder, and palatable eating motives.

Education —

B.A. in Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 2022

Research —

Lab: Health Behavior and Technology Lab
Advisor: Tera Fazzino, PhD

Her research interests include understanding palatable eating motives and the underlying reinforcement processes of hyperpalatable foods that contribute to eating disorders. She is also interested in applying theories of addiction to understand eating behaviors and investigating the overlap between eating pathology and other reward-seeking behaviors.

Selected Publications —

Fazzino, T. L., Kong, S., Lee, G., Stewart, M (2026) Ultraprocessed Foods in the Global Food System: The Role of US Tobacco Companies. American Journal of Public Health, 116(7), 921-931.

Jun, D., Kong, S., Lee, G., & Fazzino, T. L. (2026). Ecological Momentary Assessment Studies on Food Craving among Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. Appetite, 108721.

Selected Presentations —

Kong, S., Fazzino, T. (2026, May). A Longitudinal Examination of Palatable Eating and Drinking Motives During Young Adulthood. Research talk presented at the 2026 Cofrin Logan Center Addiction Trainee Research Showcase. Lawrence, K.S.

Kong, S., Fazzino, T. (2026, May). Trajectory of Palatable Eating and Drinking Motives over Time among College Students. Poster presented at the annual Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction Conference (CPA) convention. Kansas City, M.S.

Awards & Honors —

Larry Wrightsman Summer Fellowship (2026)
Edward Dreyfus Scholar Award (2026)
Society of Personality and Social Psychology Undergraduate Student Poster Award Finalist (1 of 9 finalists) (2023)
UCLA Psychology Departmental Honors (Selected as 1 of 27 students) (2022)
Summa Cum Laude (2022)
Dean’s Honors List, College of Letters and Science (Fall 2020-Spring 2022)