Alaina Pearce

• Understanding the role of neurocognitive functioning in eating behaviors on that contribute to risk or resiliency to pediatric obesity
• Using neuroimaging techniques to better understand the influence of child weight status and risk for obesity on neural function and structure
• Using theory-driven exploration to identify novel targets that may influence risk or resiliency to obesity that can be formally tested in future work 
• Examining the impact of obesity- and nutrition-related comorbidities (e.g., inflammation, insulin resistance) on neurocognitive function and neural development

Dr. Pearce joined the Center for Childhood Obesity Research in February 2022 after completing a postdoc with Dr. Kathleen Keller at Penn State University. She received her PhD in Psychology from Georgetown University with a concentration in lifespan cognitive Neuroscience. Her research interests center on understanding on the reciprocal association between neurocognitive functioning and pediatric obesity. Dr. Pearce’s current research aims to: 1) characterize cognitive function, neural food-cue responsivity, and eating behaviors in children at high and low familial risk for obesity prior to the development of excess adiposity; 2) identify neurocognitive processes and eating behaviors that confer either risk or resiliency to pediatric obesity; and 3) characterize child eating behaviors through meal microstructure and computational modeling.