Dr. Pratt is an Associate Professor in Human Development and Family Science and Couple and Family Therapy in the Department of Human Sciences in the College of Human Ecology at The Ohio State University (OSU). She also has appointments in the Departments of Surgery and Pediatrics. She completed her doctorate in Medical Family Therapy at East Carolina University, in which she worked as a clinician-researcher in a variety of weight management settings. Dr. Pratt is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She conducts research and is a behavioral health supervisor at OSU’s Comprehensive Center for Weight Management, Metabolic, and Bariatric Surgery. She also is the research director for Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition.

Dr. Pratt’s scholarship focuses on family-based and community intervention in pediatric and adult weight management and bariatric surgery. Essentially, she explores and/or address the social determinants of health around who patients live with (including interpersonal dynamics that affect behavior change) and where they live (including access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity) and effects on weight management and surgical outcomes (behavior change, weight loss, readmissions/complications). There are three main foci of her work: 1) determining how family factors predict short and long-term patient outcomes in weight management and bariatric surgery programs; 2) developing family-based interventions to address impaired family dynamics and health behaviors in weight management and bariatric surgery programs; and 3) addressing racial/ethnic and economic disparities among weight management and bariatric surgery patients through the development of targeted community-based supports and resources. She currently is an Associate Editor for Families, Systems, & Health and Bariatric Surgical Practice and Patient Care, and is a Topic Editor for the International Journal for Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). Dr. Pratt has received funding for her work, produced >75 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and has conducted >200 presentations at local, national, and international conferences.