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Senior Investigator
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch
Tonja R. Nansel, Ph.D., is a senior investigator in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Nansel received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Fort Hays State University in 1988 and a doctoral degree in Community/Clinical Psychology from Wichita State University in 1998. Dr. Nansel’s research examines individual, social, and environmental factors influencing health behavior change, with a primary focus on eating behaviors and disease management. She has developed effective behavioral intervention approaches delivered within the healthcare setting to promote optimal management behaviors and healthful dietary intake among families of youth with type 1 diabetes. Her current research focuses on neurobehavioral influences on eating behaviors at critical developmental periods, including research examining determinants of eating behaviors and weight change during pregnancy and postpartum, how these intersect with parent feeding behaviors during infancy and early childhood, and the development of neurobehavioral response to food in early childhood. Dr. Nansel has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented her research to national and international audiences.