Dr. Chao is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (primary appointment) and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (secondary appointment). She earned her BSN and MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Boston College and her PhD in Nursing Science from Yale University. Her predoctoral training was supported by an institutional fellowship on self- and family-management (NINR/NIH T32NR008346) and an individual fellowship (NINR/NIH F31NR014375) for her research on stress, binge eating, and metabolic abnormalities. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health promotion research in vulnerable women, children and families (NINR/NIH T32NR007100) at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Chao’s research interests include identifying biobehavioral mechanisms related to binge eating and obesity. She is particularly interested in the roles of food cravings, addiction, stress, impulsivity, and reward. She is also interested in developing innovative ways to improve the treatment of binge eating disorder and obesity. In Dr. Chao’s current clinical practice, she provides medical management for participants enrolled in research studies at the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders