Dr. Karpyn is co-director of the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) and associate professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. She also is an associate fellow for the Center for Public Health Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining UD, Dr. Karpyn served as the director of research and evaluation at The Food Trust in Philadelphia for 11 years, where her research focused on understanding healthy food purchasing and consumption behavior, especially among children.

Dr. Karpyn is committed to informing policy and practice with rigorous mixed-method research designs. Her current research efforts include the study of food deserts, corner store programs in urban areas and in-store marketing approaches in supermarkets to promote purchase and consumption of healthier options. She is also conducting research to understand the impact a new supermarket has on residents in the surrounding community. She has published widely on topics related to school food, supermarket access, healthy corner stores, and strategies to develop and maintain farmers markets in low income areas. A publication list is available here.