Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Behavioral Medicine; Pediatrics
The overarching goal of Dr. Anzman-Frasca’s research is to promote healthy developmental trajectories for all individuals beginning in early life. She is interested in the psychological processes behind individuals’ health behaviors, interactions between these processes and contextual factors, and the interplay between obesity risk and other aspects of well-being, particularly among young children.
Dr. Anzman-Frasca received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bucknell University and MS and PhD degrees in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University, where her dissertation research explored intersections between infant temperament and early obesity risk in the context of a behavioral obesity preventive intervention targeting first-time parents and their infants. Subsequently, as a post-doc at Tufts University, she focused on research promoting healthy eating among school-age children within community contexts like out-of-school-time programs and restaurants.
Dr. Anzman-Frasca’s current research agenda is focused on making healthy choices easier for children using both laboratory- and community-based approaches. Specific areas of interest include increasing the availability and selection of healthier children’s meal options in restaurants, promoting early childhood self-regulation abilities, and examining individual differences in susceptibility to obesity interventions to ensure that childhood obesity prevention efforts address, rather than exacerbate, health disparities. Finally, Dr. Anzman-Frasca is interested in ways in which childhood obesity prevention efforts may benefit other aspects of health and well-being, such as cognitive functioning and socio-emotional development, and has been pursuing this idea in recent studies focused on school breakfast, physical activity, and self-regulation.