News
View News Archives

TBT: Action Tendency Emotions Evoked by Memorable Breast Cancer Messages and Their Association With Prevention and Detection Behaviors
February 6, 2025 - Ashley Wilson
To celebrate and bring awareness to World Cancer Day.
TBT: Donors and Nondonors: Communication and Information
January 23, 2025 - Ashley Wilson
National Blood Donor Month.
Call for 2025 Strosacker and Sandi Smith Fellowships
December 10, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
We are excited to announce the call for this year's Strosacker and Sandi Smith Fellowships.

4th Annual Day of Innovation and Insights in Health and Risk Communication
October 15, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
Join us for the 4th annual Day of Innovation, where we explore the latest innovations and insights in health and risk communication. This is a prime opportunity for professional development and networking with leaders in the field.

HRCC Faculty Feature July
July 30, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
This month the HRCC faculty feature is Dr. Anna Argyris

HRCC Faculty Feature June
June 26, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
This month the HRCC faculty feature is Dr. Saleem Alhabash.
2023-2024 Strosacker Research Fellowship Winners
June 3, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
2023-2024 Charles J. Strosacker Research Fellowship Awarded to Ph.D. students; Sofia Aparício, Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, Ava Francesca Battocchio, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Sou’d Ebdah, Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, Moonsun Jeon, Department of Communication, Boram Lee, Department of Media & Information, and MA Students; Xiaoran Cui, Department of Communication and Margot Stern, Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders.

HRCC Faculty Feature May
May 27, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
This month the HRCC faculty feature is Dr. Fashina Aladé.

HRCC Faculty Feature April
April 22, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
This month the HRCC faculty feature Dr. Hyesun Choung.

HRCC Faculty Feature March
March 26, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
This month the HRCC faculty feature is Dr. Bree Holtz
Sandi Smith Research Fellowship Winners 2023-2024
February 26, 2024 - Ashley Wilson
The highest human act is to inspire: Sandi Smith Research Fellowship awarded Adrian Kresnak.

Meet HRC MA Alumna: Pingann Oung
December 14, 2023 - Huiyi Liu
This week we are featuring Pingann a recent grad of the HRC MA program. they are a behavioral change communication consultant.

Meet HRC MA Jason Wright
November 14, 2023 - Huiyi Liu
This week we are featuring one of our current HRC Ma students, Jason Wright

3rd Annual Day of Innovation and Insights in Health and Risk Communication
November 13, 2023 - Jessica Mussell
Michigan State University’s Health and Risk Communication Center (HRCC) hosted a panel of professionals and scholars to discuss the field’s latest trends and insights at the third annual Day of Innovation, Nov. 3, 2023, at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.

Meet HRC MA Sierra Moore
October 19, 2023 - Sierra Moore
This week we are featuring one of our graduating students in the HRC MA program, Sierra Moore.

Meet HRC MA Adrian Kresnak
October 11, 2023 - Huiyi Liu
This week we are featuring one of our current HRC MA Students, Adrian Kresnak.

HRC MA Spotlight: Huiyi Liu
June 26, 2023 - Sierra Moore
For our last week we are going to feature Huiyi Liu, a recent graduate of the HRC MA program.

Meet HRC MA Alumna, Julia
June 19, 2023 - Sierra Moore
This week we are featuring Julia, a recent grad of the HRC MA program. Julia is currently working as a Proposal Coordinator at HMA.
Meet HRC MA Alumna: Amina Mohamed-Saleh
June 12, 2023 - Sierra Moore
Week 2 of our month-long campaign to shine a spotlight on Alumni Amina Mohamed-Saleh.

Launching into June: Meet HRC MA Alumna, Michelle Chambers
June 9, 2023
We are thrilled to kick off our month-long campaign to shine a spotlight on Alumni and current students of the Health and Risk Communication Masters (HRC MA) Program at Michigan State University. Each week, we will spotlight an individual who will share their experiences with the program, its impact on their post-graduation journey, and advice they have for current and future health communicators. This week, we have the privilege to interview Michelle Chambers, who now serves as the State Assistant Administrator at the Bureau of Epidemiology and Population Health with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
MSU ranked highly for sustainability by Times Higher Education
June 2, 2023 - Dan Olsen - MSU Today
Michigan State University – home to the state's largest and one of the first mass-timber buildings, the nation's largest solar carport array, a growing electric vehicle fleet, and a campus of more than 20,000 trees – jumped seven spots to No. 26 globally in Times Higher Education’s 2023 Impact Rankings. MSU also maintained its prestigious No. 2 ranking in the United States.

New Director of the HRC MA Program
May 9, 2023 - Huiyi Liu
Welcoming Ralf Schmälzle as the New Director of the HRC MA Program
2022-2023 Strosacker Research Fellowship Winners
April 3, 2023 - Ashley Wilson
2022-2023 Charles J. Strosacker Research Fellowship Awarded to Adrian Castillio, Kathryn Genoa, and Junwen Hu.

HRCC Faculty Feature March
March 17, 2023 - Huiyi Liu
This month the HRCC faculty feature is Dr. David Ewoldsen.


HRCC Faculty Feature January
January 18, 2023
Happy New Year! This month the HRCC faculty feature is Dr. Dar Meshi.
Sandi Smith Research Fellowship Winners 2022-2023
January 10, 2023 - Huiyi Liu
The highest human act is to inspire: Sandi Smith Research Fellowship awarded to Jong In Lim & Hanjie Liu

HRCC Faculty Feature December
December 6, 2022
With the semester coming to an end, the HRCC is happy to announce our last faculty feature of the year: Dr. Sandi Smith, Ph.D., former director of the Health and Risk Communication Center and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication here at MSU.

HRCC Faculty Feature November
November 16, 2022
Happy November! This month the HRCC faculty feature is Shawn Turner, one of the core leaders in the center.
Social Norms in Health Communication Scholarship: A Call for Papers and Reviewers
October 31, 2022
Maria Lapinski & Rajiv Rimal are guest editing a special issue of Health Communication on social norms in health communication scholarship. Deadline for papers is March 1, 2023. We are also looking for reviewers!
Re-Imagining One Health: A perspective from social science
October 23, 2022 - Maria Lapinski, Matthew Seegar, Deanna Sellnow, Timothy Sellnow, and Teresa L. Thompson
Literature on the One Health Framework is primarily based in the natural and health sciences perspective. Take a look at One Health from a social science perceptive with this new pub!
Do Populists Really Reject Expert Judgement?: Expert Consensus and Support for Clean Water Act Protections
October 11, 2022 - Daniel Bergan, Maria Lapinski, and Shawn Turner
Happy Thursday - enjoy a new pub alert from the HRCC!

HRCC Faculty Feature October
October 10, 2022
Welcoming a new month means we are back with another featured faculty member! The HRCC is thrilled to introduce October’s featured faculty member: Dr. Anastasia G. Kononova, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Michigan State University.

HRCC Faculty Feature September
September 15, 2022
We are excited to announce that our September HRCC featured faculty member is Dr. Todd Lucas, Ph.D., C.S. Mott Endowed professor of Public Health & associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University.

HRCC Faculty Feature May
May 22, 2022
What better way to ring in the end of the school year than with our HRCC Faculty Feature of the Month! This month the HRCC is featuring James Dearing. Dearing is a Brandt Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication who has recently been appointed to serve on an advisory council for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
HRCC Faculty Feature April
April 11, 2022
April showers bring May flowers, and they also bring another faculty feature! This month the HRCC is featuring Rick Wash. He is an Associate Professor of Information Science and Cybersecurity in the Department of Media and Information. Rick is an expert on the human aspects of cybersecurity.
HRCC Sandi Smith Research Fellowship Awarded to Sanguk Lee, Kaitlin Lewin, & Emily Shuo Zhan
February 16, 2022 - Ireland Ingram
The Health and Risk Communication Center (HRCC) is in the fifth year of its new Fellowship award, the Sandi Smith Research Fellowship. This year’s recipients include Ph.D. candidate Sanguk Lee, Department of Communication, Ph.D. student Kaitlin Lewin, Department of Advertising & Public Relations, and Ph.D student Emily Shuo Zhan, Department of Journalism. Funds awarded from this fellowship are in recognition of each student’s exceptional scholarly efforts and will aid these students’ in their research initiatives.
HRCC Faculty Feature February
February 10, 2022 - Ireland Ingram
It is February and love (for research) is in the air! The HRCC is pleased to announce that this month’s featured faculty member is Professor Jeffrey P. Searl, Ph.D., CCC-SLP from the department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University.

HRCC Featured Faculty-January
January 17, 2022 - Ireland Ingram
Happy New Year from the HRCC! With the new year, comes another Faculty Feature! This month’s faculty feature is Geri Alumit Zeldes, Ph.D. She is a tenured Professor in MSU’s School of Journalism and serves as ComArtSci’s Faculty Excellence Advocate, helping recruit and retain staff and faculty and tries to move the needle of awesome-ness in the building.
HRCC Faculty Feature December
December 5, 2021 - Ireland
Happy December! Winter is rolling in and so is another HRCC Featured Faculty of the Month! For December our faculty feature is Tai-Quan "Winson" Peng, Ph.D. Winson Peng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University.

Faculty Feature of the Month
October 28, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
Happy November! It is time for another Featured Faculty of the Month. For the month of November the HRCC Faculty Feature is Eric Freedman J.D.

Faculty Feature of the Month
October 7, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
Happy October! Fall has arrived and so has another Faculty Feature! This month’s faculty feature is Keith N. Hampton, PhD. Dr. Hampton is a Professor in the Department of Media and Information, in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. In 2018 he assumed the role of Director of Academic Research for the Quello Center, a multi-disciplinary center within the Department of Media and Information at MSU.

DR. RATAN AWARDED NSF GRANT TO DEVELOP MORE INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE REMOTE WORKSPACES
September 26, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work which highlighted the barriers to well-being, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Video meeting fatigue is especially harmful to women and people of color, intensifying things that were already occurring in face-to-face meetings, such as unequal talking time and interruptions. It is the ultimate hope that this research will allow for insights to improve general best practices for virtual meetings among a number of diverse teams and industries to minimize this fatigue. - Dr. Ratan

Faculty Feature of the Month
September 2, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
Welcome back to MSU! The start of September signals the new Fall semester and it also means it is time for another HRCC faculty feature!

Faculty Feature of the Month
August 5, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
The HRCC is happy to announce that the Faculty Feature for the month of August is Dr. Fashina (Shina) Aladé. Dr. Aladé is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising + Public Relations and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She also serves as the Associate Editor of the Society for Research in Child Development’s Social Policy Report, and she has worked with several public media stations and outreach organizations on a variety of projects evaluating children’s television programs and online games.
I Like What You Like: Social Norms and Media Enjoyment
July 12, 2021 - Allison Eden and Kevin Kryston
People consume and enjoy similar media entertainment as their friends and close others do. Yet the underlying psychological processes driving selection and consumption of entertainment considered “mainstream” within a group are still unclear. Given that individuals’ behaviors and attitudes are influenced by the perceived prevalence of others’ behaviors (descriptive norms) and perceptions of what others approve (injunctive norms), this article examines the role of descriptive and injunctive norms in media selection and enjoyment.

Faculty Feature of the Month
July 8, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
The HRCC is delighted to announce the Faculty Feature for the month of July is Dr. Bridget Walsh. Dr. Walsh is a certified speech-language pathologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University. She directs the Developmental Speech Laboratory in the Communication Arts and Sciences building.

Faculty Feature of the Month
June 3, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
The HRCC is excited to announce the June Faculty Feature of the Month is Dr. John Besley. Dr. Besley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising + Public Relations in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences as well as the Ellis N. Brandt Chair.
American Scientists' Willingness to Use Different Communication Tactics
May 9, 2021 - John C. Besley, Todd P. Newman, Anthony Dudo, Leigh Anne Tiffany
The careful choice of tactics—such as specific messages, styles, channels, or sources—is how strategic science communicators ensure that the time and money going into communication results in intended changes to chosen audiences’ beliefs, feelings, and frames, as well as associated behaviors. Using a sample of scientists from American research universities (N = 516), we assess scientists’ willingness to use 11 different communication tactics and the relationship between these tactics and potential predictors. We find that scientists are open to a range of communication tactics. Practical and theoretical implications for science communication are discussed.

Faculty Feature of the Month
May 6, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
We are thrilled to announce this month’s faculty feature is Dr. Stephanie Beth Jordan. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Information and a core faculty in the Center for Gender in a Global Context at Michigan State University.
Sandi Smith Research Fellowship Winners
May 3, 2021 - Amber Wise
The highest human act is to inspire: Sandi Smith Research Fellowship awarded to Ms. Leigh Anne Tiffany, Mr. Nolan Jahn, and Ms. Shelby Wilcox.
Problematic Social Media Use and Social Support Received in Real-Life Versus on Social Media: Associations with Depression, Anxiety and Social Isolation
May 2, 2021 - Dar Meshi and Morgan Ellithorpe
Social media platforms allow people to connect with each other and obtain social rewards. In some individuals, these reinforcing rewards can induce maladaptive, problematic social media use, with symptoms similar to substance use disorders. This problematic social media use has been associated with poorer mental health. Previous studies have demonstrated that social support can protect against poor mental health. People can receive social support both in real-life and on social media, however, so we investigated whether these two types of social support mediate the relationship between problematic social media use and poor mental health.
Showing They Care (Or Don't): Affective Publics and Ambilvalent Climate Activism on TikTok
May 1, 2021 - Bruno Takahashi, Perry Parks, Jing Zeng, and Samantha Hautea
The microvideo platform TikTok has emerged as a popular hub for self-expression and social activism, particularly for youth, but use of the platform’s affective affordances to spread awareness of important issues has not been adequately studied. Through an exploratory multimodal discourse analysis of a sample of popular climate change-hashtagged TikTok videos, this study examines how affordances of visibility, editability, and association facilitate the formation of affective publics on TikTok.
Using Speech Acts to Elicit Positive Emotions for Complaints on Social Media
April 26, 2021 - Young Anna Argyis, Kafui Monu, Yongsuk Kim, Yilu Zhou, Zuhui Wang, Zhaozheng Tin
A carefully tailored tone in response to a complaint on social media can create positive emotions for an upset customer. However, very few studies have identified what response tones, based on an established theory, would be most effective for complaint management. This study conceptualizes a service agent's response tones based on Ballmer and Brennenstuhl's (1981) classification of speech acts and examines how an agent's use of speech acts elicit positive emotions for the complainant.
All night long: problematic media use is differentially associated with sleep quality and depression by medium
April 11, 2021 - Allison Eden, Morgan E. Ellithorpe, Dar Meshi, Ezgi Ulusoy and Sara M. Grady
Media use appears to adversely affect sleep quality. Yet, findings remain inconsistent based on medium, duration, and manner of use. Given the recent, widespread rise in consumption of video on-demand services and social media platforms, problematic use of these media has become of interest to media and sleep researchers. Although research has looked at the correlation between problematic media use and sleep, to date no studies have compared different media platforms to better understand the processes.

Faculty Feature of the Month
April 1, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
The HRCC is excited to announce the April HRCC featured faculty member of the month is Dr. Maria D. Molina. Dr. Molina is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising & Public Relations.

Faculty Feature of the Month
March 5, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
We are pleased to share the March HRCC featured faculty member of the month is Dr. Bruno Takahashi. Dr. Takahashi is an Associate Professor of Environmental Journalism and Communication at Michigan State University with a joint appointment in the School of Journalism and AgBioResearch.

Faculty Feature of the Month
February 12, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
February's HRCC featured faculty member is Dr. Elizabeth Dorrance Hall. Dr. Elizabeth Dorrance Hall is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Department at Michigan State University and Director of the Family Communication and Relationships Lab.

Faculty Feature of the Month
January 29, 2021 - Ireland Ingram
January’s HRCC featured Faculty Member of the Month is Dr. Monique Mitchell Turner. Dr. Turner is a Professor and the Chair of the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. Prior to this appointment, she served as Associate Dean of MPH programs at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.