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Maria Kalantzis

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology

Convergence Science in Psychopathology and Health (CoPH) Lab

My lab investigates how environmental and socioeconomic stressors shape psychological and physiological processes relevant to eating behavior and cardiometabolic health. The lab uses intensive longitudinal, laboratory, and mixed-methods approaches to identify mechanisms that can inform targeted and scalable behavioral interventions.

Convergence Science in Psychopathology and Health (CoPH) Lab

Education

PhD, Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Medicine Track, Bowling Green State University, 2026
MA, Clinical Psychology, Bowling Green State University, 2022
Predoctoral Residency, Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine Track, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 2025–2026
Summer Research Fellow, Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2024
BS, Psychology, Honors, North Central College, 2020

Research Interests

My research examines the behavioral and physiological mechanisms through which environmental and socioeconomic stressors influence eating behavior and cardiometabolic health. My independent research program focuses on food insecurity as a dynamic environmental exposure, with an emphasis on understanding how fluctuations in food access contribute to stress-related eating, alterations in hunger and satiety, and cardiometabolic risk among adults with higher body weight. I am particularly interested in identifying behavioral and biobehavioral pathways linking food insecurity with cardiometabolic outcomes, including stress physiology, interoceptive processes, and emotional and binge eating.

My research integrates ecological momentary assessment (EMA), laboratory paradigms, longitudinal data analysis, and mixed methods to characterize within-person variability in food insecurity and identify proximal mechanisms linking environmental exposures with health-related behaviors. I am also interested in translating mechanistic findings into just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) that deliver targeted behavioral support in response to changing environmental contexts and individual-level risk states. Ultimately, my work seeks to elucidate modifiable pathways linking food insecurity with cardiometabolic risk and inform precision behavioral interventions that complement existing approaches to cardiometabolic disease prevention and management.

Courses Taught

Psychopathology (PSYC 331) — Fall 2026
Structural Equation Modeling (PSYC 535) — Spring 2027

Publications/Research Listings

Publications

Phillips, A. S., & Kalantzis, M. (2026). Acceptance and commitment therapy for diabetes distress: Promoting self-management using a mindfulness-based approach. Cutting Edge in Nutrition and Diabetes Care.

Kalantzis, M., Wang, P., Meschino, K., Raffoul, A., & Braden, A. (2026). Sociocultural influences on disordered eating in Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African American women: A population gap research study examining the role of family, peers, media pressures and acculturative stress. International Journal of Advancements in Counseling Research.

Kalantzis, M., & Aldebyan, A. (2026). Body image in the Middle East and North Africa. In The Handbook of Diversities in Body Image. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-32896-1.00010-3

Ikizler, A., Altıntaş-Atay, Ö., & Kalantzis, M. (2026). Beyond single stories: Understanding intersectionality in mental health research and practice. In Multicultural Issues in Counseling and Therapy: Global Perspectives (1st ed., pp. 93–114). Anı Publishing.

Kalantzis, M. A., Maitland, D. M., Yannon, M., Gaggiano, C., He, J., Barrita, A., Symmes, L., & O’Brien, W. H. (2025). Weight-based discrimination and cortisol output: A systematic review. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 22, 100290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2025.100290

Braden, A., Kalantzis, M., Dauber, A., Meschino, K. J., Barnhart, W. R., Jordan, A. K., & Studer-Perez, E. I. (2025). Measurement of emotional eating with the Emotional Eating Scale, a laboratory paradigm, and ecological momentary assessment. Eating Behaviors, 58, 102011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.102011

Qi, B., Kalantzis, M., Thornton, L. M., Dinkler, L., Guintivano, J. D., Johnson, J., Micali, N., & Bulik, C. M. (2025). Suicidal ideation and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder: Findings from the ARFID-GEN study. Psychiatry Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116471

Kalantzis, M. A., & Braden, A. L. (2024). Examining indirect and direct effects of risk and resilience on the relation between perceived discrimination and eating disorder symptoms in ethnic minority American women. Psychological Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941241256884

Barnhart, W. R., Kalantzis, M., Gaggiano, C., & Braden, A. L. (2024). The relation between questionnaire-measured self-reported emotional eating and disordered eating behaviors: A meta-analysis of nearly three decades of research. Appetite, 198, 107343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107343

Haidar, A., Kalantzis, M., Nallajerla, M., & Burnett-Zeigler, I. (2024). Perceptions of mindfulness among Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African American women. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/27536130231178487

Kalantzis, M. A., Braden, A. L., & Haidar, A. (2024). Disordered eating and emotional eating in Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African American women. Eating Behaviors, 53, 101868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2024.101868

Braden, A., Barnhart, W. R., Kalantzis, M., Redondo, R., Dauber, A., Anderson, L., & Tilstra-Ferrell, E. L. (2023). Eating when depressed, anxious, bored, or happy: An examination in treatment-seeking adults with overweight/obesity. Appetite, 184, 106510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.106510

Kalantzis, M. A., Lim, S. C., Dauber, A. K., Studer-Perez, E. I., Silverman, Z. J., & O’Brien, W. H. (2023). Acculturative stress and eating disorder psychopathology: A meta-analysis. Eating Behaviors, 48, 101694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2022.101694


Funding and Research Support

  • Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Fund and Psychology Initiatives Fund, Bowling Green State University (2022–2023). Principal Investigator. Ecological momentary assessment research project. $2,750 combined.
  • Karen Crawford Named P.E.O. Scholar Award (2024–2025). $25,000.
  • Mind & Life Institute Valera Grant (2024–2026). Qualitative Methods Consultant. Culturally adapted mindfulness-based intervention for stress among Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Americans. $1,200.
  • Dr. Philip Kayal Research Grant, Center of Arab American Philanthropy (2021). Principal Investigator. Disordered eating, emotional eating, and negative body image in Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African American women. $500.
  • Clinical Area Research Funds, Bowling Green State University (2021). Co-Principal Investigator. Prenatal testosterone, eating pathology, and emotion regulation. $350.
  • Paul K. and Elizabeth Cook Richter Trust Grant, North Central College (2018). Principal Investigator. Cross-cultural mixed-methods examination of disordered and emotional eating in Scottish and American college students. $5,000.

Awards

  • Top 10 Poster Abstract, International Conference on Eating Disorders (2025).
  • Karen Crawford Named/Endowed P.E.O. Scholar (2024).
  • Spotlight Mentor Award, Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (2024).
  • Major Influence on Academic Experience of the Senior Class of 2024, St. Mary’s College of Maryland (2024).
  • Donald and Zella Leventhal Memorial Award for Outstanding Psychological Research and Clinical Practice (2023).