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Meghan Butryn

Meghan Butryn, PhD

Professor
Associate Department Head
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
WELL Center
Office: Stratton 286
mlb34@drexel.edu
Phone: 215.553.7108

Additional Sites:

Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center)


Curriculum Vitae:

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests:

  • Obesity prevention and treatment
  • Physical activity promotion
  • Lifestyle modification
  • Behavioral therapy
  • Cancer prevention

Bio:

Meghan Butryn, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and a licensed clinical psychologist. She serves as Associate Head of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Director of Research in the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center) at Drexel. She received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her doctoral degree from Drexel University and completed her APA-accredited internship at Brown University.

Butryn’s research interests and expertise lie in weight management, physical activity promotion, and dietary change. In addition, she specializes in developing and evaluating behavioral treatment and prevention programs for obesity. More recently, she has studied lifestyle modification for cancer prevention and survivorship and has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on 15 NIH-funded clinical trials. She has published 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts, co-authored two books, and edited one. She also served as a standing member of an NIH study section, is a member of the Scientific Review Committee for the Obesity Society and is an editorial board member for the journal Obesity Science & Practice.

Professor Butryn created and coordinates the faculty/first-year-undergraduate-student mentorship program in Drexel’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. She has won numerous awards, including the Provost’s Award for Mid-Career Scholarly Achievement.

Butryn’s work on lifestyle modification strives to improve the health of adults by reducing their risk for conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The Butryn lab uses behavioral principles to understand the challenges of eating a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity and creates innovations in intervention programs by integrating the latest advances in scientific theory and technology.

Selected Publications:

  • Butryn ML, Crane NT, Lufburrow E, Hagerman CJ, Forman EM, Zhang F. The Role of Physical Activity in Long-term Weight Loss: 36-month Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Behav Med. 2022. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaac028. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35640225.
  • Horgan, O.Z., Crane, N.T., Forman, E.M., Milliron, B.J., Simone, N.L., Zhang, F., & Butryn, M.L. (2022). Optimizing an mHealth intervention to change food purchasing behaviors for cancer prevention: Protocol for a pilot randomized control trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 11, 39669.
  • Butryn, M.L., Godfrey, K., Call, C.C., Forman, E.M., Zhang, F., & Volpe, S. (2021). Promotion of physical activity during weight loss maintenance: a randomized controlled trial. Health Psychology, 40, 178-187.
  • Micaily, I., Hackbart, H., Butryn, M.L., & Abu-Khalaf, M. (2021). Obesity in early-onset African-American breast cancer patients. The Breast Journal, 27, 603-607.
  • Schumacher, L.M., Martinelli, M.K., Convertino, A.D., Forman, E.M., & Butryn, M.L. (2021). Weight-related information avoidance prospectively predicts poorer self-monitoring and engagement in a behavioral weight loss intervention. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 55, 103-111.
  • Stice, E., Rohde, P., Gau, J., Butryn, M., Shaw, H., Cloud, K., D’Adamo, L. (2021). Enhancing efficacy of a dissonance-based obesity and eating disorder prevention program: Experimental therapeutics. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 89, 793-804.
  • Butryn, M.L., Godfrey, K., Martinelli, M., Roberts, S.R., Forman, E.F., & Zhang, F. (2020). Digital self-monitoring: does adherence or association with outcomes differ by self-monitoring target. Obesity Science & Practice, 6, 126-133.
  • Butryn, M.L., Martinelli, M., Crane, N.T., Godfrey, K., Roberts, S.R., Zhang, F., & Forman, E.M. (2020). Counselor surveillance of digital self-monitoring data: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Obesity, 28, 2339-2346.
  • Cardel, M., Ross, K., Butryn, M.L., Donahoo, W., Eastman, A., Dillard, J., Grummon, A., Hopkins, P., Wigham, L., & Janicke, D. (2020) Acceptance-based therapy: the potential to augment behavioral interventions in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Nutrition and Diabetes, 10, 3.
  • Martinelli, M.K., Godfrey, K.M., Martinez, M., Forman, E.M., & Butryn, M.L. (2020). Physical discomfort intolerance as a predictor of weight loss and physical activity in a lifestyle modification program. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 43, 1041-1046.
  • Wadden, T.A., Tronieri, J., & Butryn, M.L. (2020). Lifestyle modification for the treatment of obesity in adults. American Psychologist, 75, 235-251.
  • Butryn, M.L., Martinelli, M.K., Remmert, J.E., Roberts, S.R., Zhang, F., Forman, E.M., & Manasse, S.M. (2019). Executive functioning as a predictor of weight loss and physical activity outcomes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53, 909-917.