Thom Dunn

Contact Information

Education

Ph.D. - University of Cincinnati

M.A. - University of Cincinnati

B.S. - Allegheny College

Professional/Academic Experience

Thom Dunn has been on faculty at the University of Northern Colorado since 2000. A Colorado native, Dr. Dunn returned to the state in 1999 after completing a Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Cincinnati and clinical internship at the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center.

Professor Dunn is internationally known for his pioneering research on the study of pathologically healthful eating. His research has been reported by such media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, the BBC, Popular Science, and the CBC. Recently, Dr. Dunn has started to write about best practices for addressing behavioral emergencies by first responders

In addition to his teaching and research activities, Dr. Dunn dedicates a small amount of time as an active clinical psychologist at Denver Health Medical Center. He serves as a faculty member to the University of Colorado’s Medical School’s psychosomatic medicine fellowship program. He also sits on Denver Health’s bioethics committee and is the chair of the Colorado Psychological Association’s Ethics Committee.

Research/Areas of Interest

Dr. Dunn has taught a number of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Physiological Psychology, Statistics, Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He developed the courses Psychology of Human Sexuality, Psychopharmacology, and Biological Bases of Behavior for UNC. He has also previously taught Clinical Neuropsychology, Cognition, Tests and Measures, and Child and Adolescent Psychology.

His research interests are varied, generally involving the intersection between medicine and psychology. Specifically, Professor Dunn is interested in eating disorders that lead to malnutrition, but do not have a body image component, such as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, as well as Orthorexia Nervosa (pathologically healthful eating).

Publications/Creative Works

• Donini, L.M, Ramon Barrada, J., Barthels, F., Dunn, T., Babeau, C. Brytek-Matera, A.B., & Cena, H. (2022). A consensus document on definition and diagnostic criteria for orthorexia nervosa. Eating and Weight Disorders, 10.1007/s40519-022-01512-5.  

• Slocum, S., Fiorillo, M., Harding, E., Owen, J., Long, R., Dunn, T., & Martin, I. (2022). In pursuit of inter-specialty consensus on excited delirium syndrome: a scoping literature review. Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, 10.1007/s12024-022-00548-4. Posted online ahead of press.  

• Dunn, T. (2022). Self-harm and cannabis use. In P. Riggs & T. Thant (Eds.), Cannabis in Psychiatric Practice: A Practical Guide (145-152). Springer.   

• Dunn, T. (2021). Prehospital Behavioral Emergencies. In: L.S. Zun, K. Nordstrom & M.P. Wilson (Eds.), Behavioral Emergencies for Healthcare Providers, 2nd edition (pp 269-280). Springer.  

• Dunn, T. & Hawkins, N. (2020). Orthorexia Nervosa. Psychiatric Times, 37(5), 32-34.  

• Dunn, T. (2020). Handing the hollering with a calming voice. In: S.A. Simpson & A. McDowell (Eds.), The Clinical Interview: Skills for More Effective Patient Encounters (pp 29-32). Routledge.