Melissa Santos, PhD

Dr. Santos is a psychologist specializing in the family treatment of pediatric obesity. She works with adolescents and their families preparing for bariatric surgery and families participating in non-surgical weight management programming. Dr. Santos supervises psychology and medical students in clinical and research activities within the obesity program. In addition to her work at Connecticut Children’s, Dr. Santos serves as the President of the Society of Pediatric Psychology.

Education

PhD, Texas Tech University

Residency

The Medical College of Georgia/Augusta VA Psychology Residency Consortium

Fellowship

The Medical College of Georgia, Hartford Hospital/The Institute of Living

Selected Publications

Santos, M., Cadieux, A., Gray, J. & Ward, W. (2016). Pediatric Obesity in Early Childhood: A Physician Screening Tool. Clinical Pediatrics, 55, 356-362.
Cadieux, A., Getzoff, E., Baughcum, A., Shaffer, L., Santos, M., Gaffka, B., Gray, J., Burton, E. & Ward, W. (2016). Recommendations for Psychologists in Stage III Pediatric Obesity Programs. Children’s Health Care, 45, 126-145.
Gray, J.S., Cadieux, A., Sweeney, B., Beck, A., Edgar, S., Eneli, I., Getzoff Testa, E., Paguio, K., Santos, M., & Ward, W. (in press). Medical neglect and pediatric obesity: Insights from tertiary care obesity treatment programs. Children’s Health Care.
Astur, R.S., Carew, A.W., Palmisano, A., Deaton, B.E., Kuhney, F., Niezrecki, R., & Santos, M. (2016). Cravings in a Virtual Reality Room Paired with Chocolate Predict Eating Disorder Risk. International Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 9, 9-19.
Santos, M., Murtaugh, T., Pantaleao, A. Zempsky, W. & Guite, J. (In Press) Chronic Pain and Obesity within a Pediatric Interdisciplinary Pain Clinic Setting: A Preliminary Examination of Current Relationships and Future Directions. Clinical Journal of Pain.
View Dr. Santos’s full list of publications