Dr. Szabo-Reed completed her BS in Movement Science and her BA in Sports Management from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2007. She completed her MS in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign in 2011 and her Ph.D. in 2012. In January 2017, she completed a Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award at University of Kansas Medical Center, focusing her training on obesity and Weight Management. In July 2020 she completed a KL2 Mentored Clinical Research Scholar Award at the University of Kansas Medical Center and graduated with her Masters in Clinical Research in December 2020 as part of this program. She is currently an assistant research professor in the Division of Weight Managment. She is also affiliated with the KU Alzheimer's Disease Center.