Rate My Professor Kara Christensen

Kara Christensen Pacella is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), a position she has held since 2022. She serves as director of the Clinic for Research on Eating, Sleep, and Therapy (CREST Lab) within the Department of Psychology. Pacella obtained her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2011, followed by an M.A. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in quantitative psychology from The Ohio State University in 2019. Her clinical training includes a doctoral internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (2018-2019) and a three-year NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship in eating disorders at the University of Kansas (2019-2022). Licensed as a clinical psychologist in Nevada with PSYPACT authorization, Pacella has extensive clinical experience across outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization settings for adolescents and adults with eating disorders. She is proficient in evidence-based treatments for comorbid conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, and depressive disorders.

Pacella conducts translational research to enhance eating disorder interventions by identifying modifiable mechanisms such as sleep and interpersonal relationships, and by pioneering accessible delivery methods like mobile health applications. She co-developed apps including the Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students (BEST-U), tested among university students and adolescents. Her methodological toolkit encompasses cross-sectional surveys, ecological momentary assessments, qualitative studies, randomized controlled trials, and single-case designs. With over 60 peer-reviewed publications cited more than 1,500 times, notable works include "Eating-disorder psychopathology in female athletes and non-athletes: A meta-analysis" (International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2022; 143 citations), "Recent innovations in the field of interpersonal emotion regulation" (Current Opinion in Psychology, 2015; 292 citations), "Food insecurity associated with elevated eating disorder symptoms, impairment, and eating disorder diagnoses in an American university student sample" (International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2021; 115 citations), and "A theoretical review of interpersonal emotion regulation in eating disorders" (Journal of Eating Disorders, 2020). Pacella was recognized as a 2025 Association for Psychological Science Rising Star and appointed associate editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2024. Her contributions extend to measure development, such as the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (EPSI).