Center for Health and Risk Communication

The Center for Health and Risk Communication 

The University of Maryland Center for Health and Risk Communication is a cross-disciplinary research center committed to advancing human health and well-being through the scientific study of communication processes and effects in addressing societal problems related to health, risk, and science. We promote collaboration and dialogue among government, academia, and industry to pursue evidence-based research that provides meaningful guidelines to the practice of health, risk, and science communication. As a research center, we are also committed to training the next generation of communication scientists and building community partnerships to inform and empower disadvantaged individuals and communities.

Our Team:

The CHRC team consists of faculty and students from the University of Maryland College Park and Baltimore campuses, experts and researchers from organizations outside the University of Maryland system, as well as an advisory board comprised of distinguished scholars and professionals in the field of health, risk, and science communication. CHRC faculty are leaders in their respective expertise areas and conduct externally-funded research of significant impact. Our research has been funded by various sources including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Cancer Society, Prince George’s County Health Department, and the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Our Expertise:

Together, our faculty, students, and researchers bring diverse cross-cutting expertise that is central to the study of health, risk, and science communication including persuasion and social influence, public relations, mass media, social media, social networks, interpersonal communication, intergroup communication, social identity, and public understanding of science. Our team studies communication processes and effects in health-, risk-, and science-related domains such as cancer prevention and control, immunization, food safety and nutrition, agricultural biotechnology, disasters, environmental sustainability, occupational hazards, rural health, controversial science and technology, health literacy, sexual health, health stigma, and mobile health.

In addition to our Communication Faculty, we have a number of colleagues in other departments on campus and at nearby universities.

Additional CHRC Faculty Affiliates include Clement Adebamowo, James Butler III, Cheryl Knott, Shana O. Ntiri, and Ron Yaros.  

The CHRC Advisory Board consists of Joseph N. Cappella, Gary L. Kreps, and Timothy Sellnow. 

The CHRC also has an extensive network of student alumni.

Yumin Yan, Assistant Professor, College of Literature and Journalism, Xiangtan University
Yuan Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Advertising, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Saymin Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
John Leach, Lecturer, Department of Communication, University of Maryland
Rowena Briones, Copywriter, Communications Team in the Marketing Department at Vectorworks, Inc.
Kelly Madden Daily, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, La Salle University
Sumin Fang, Associate Professor, University of The Fraser Valley
Michelle Futerfas, Project Manager at Red Nucleus
Josie D. Ganzermiller, Lecturer, Business Communication, Management & Organization, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
Irina Iles, Program Director, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch (HCIRB) of the Behavioral Research Program (BRP), National Cancer Institute
Jungmi Jun, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of South Carolina
Jarim Kim, Assistant Professor, School of Communication, Yonsei University
Rowena (Rowie) Kirby-Straker, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Wake Forest University
Victoria Ledford, Assistant Professor, School of Communication and Journalism, Auburn University
Lindsay (Liang) Ma, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts Boston
Zexin (Marsha) Ma, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Connecticut
Yan Qin, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Hainan University
Adam Richards, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Furman University
Samantha Stanley, Social Scientist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Beth Sundstrom, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, College of Charleston
Kathryn Thier, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Jill Underhill, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Marshall University
Romy RW, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Loyola Marymount University
Bo Yang, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Arizona
Xinyan (Eva) Zhao, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Tong Lin, Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Public Health, Ohio State University

UMD Center for Health and Risk Communication
University of Maryland
Department of Communication
0110 Marie Mount Hall
College Park, MD 20742
tel: 301-405-0640 
healthriskcenter@umd.edu