Amanda S. Bruce, PhD

Professional Background

Dr. Bruce earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Kansas. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Pennsylvania State University and spent time doing clinical research at Brown University before completing her clinical internship at the Boston VA hospital. She came back to the Midwest to continue her training with a postdoctoral fellowship in functional neuroimaging at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). She joined the Psychology Department at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) as an Assistant Professor but was eventually recruited back to KUMC in the Department of Behavioral Pediatrics. Her clinical work is with adults with Cystic Fibrosis at KUMC. She is a member of the Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles andamp; Nutrition, which is a bi-state center affiliated with KUMC, as well as Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

• PhD, Clinical Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University
• Internship, Boston Consortium in Clinical Psychology-APA-Accredited Predoctoral Internship, VA Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston , Massachusetts

• Licensed psychologist, State of Kansas

• North American Cystic Fibrosis Society (NACFC), Member, 2016 - Present

---

Research

Overview

Dr. Bruce's laboratory investigates the clinical phenotypes and neural foundations of health-related decisions, including treatment adherence choices, physical activity, and food choices. The lab is particularly interested in decision-making as it relates to emotional functioning and adherence to medical regimens (i.e. pharmacologic interventions in chronic diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Cystic Fibrosis), and how telehealth interventions can be utilized to improve health related decision making. Since completing her fellowship in 2007, Dr. Bruce have published more than 75 peer-reviewed articles on health decisions, treatment adherence, pediatric eating behaviors, feeding, reward and decision-making, obesity’s effect on the brain’s reward regions, and brain plasticity pre to post obesity intervention, and the neurofunctional mechanisms of food reward and decision-making. She has served as the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on federally funded projects.

• Development of a Telehealth Obesity intervention for patients with Multiple Sclerosis, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Co-I

• Bruce, J., M, Cozart, J., S, Shook, R., P, Ruppen, S, Siengsukon, C, Simon, S, Befort, C, Lynch, S, Mahmoud, R, Drees, B, Norouzinia, A., N, Bradish, T, Posson, P, Hibbing, P., R, Bruce, A., S. 2021. Modifying Diet and Exercise in MS (MoDEMS): Study design and protocol for a telehealth weight loss intervention for adults with obesity & Multiple Sclerosis.. Contemporary clinical trials, 107, 106495
• Lim, S., L, Cherry JBC, Davis, A., M, Balakrishnan, S., N, Ha, O., R, Bruce, J., M, Bruce, A., S. 2016. Corrigendum: The child brain computes and utilizes internalized maternal choices.. Nature communications, 7, 12127
• Jarmolowicz, D., P, Reed, D., D, Bruce, A., S, Bruce, J., M. 2019. On the behavioral economics of medication choice: A research story.. Behavioural processes, 165, 66-77