Journalism and communications hires STEM translational communication expert

June 19, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- An expert on health and interpersonal communication will join the University of Florida to direct the development of the STEM Translational Communication Program at the College of Journalism and Communications, Dean Diane McFarlin announced today.

Janice L. Krieger will join the college as associate professor of advertising and director of the STEM Translational Communication Program. The program will invest in evaluating what goes into a successful translation – how, when, where and to whom to deliver potentially life-saving information in the areas of health and science.

Her research focus is an area that is a priority under UF’s preeminence plan.

“We couldn’t be more pleased that Janice is joining our faculty. She will lead our collaboration with colleagues from across UF, including some of the nation’s top researchers in medicine, engineering and health professions, to more effectively communicate the unique medical and engineering breakthroughs being discovered on this campus,” McFarlin said.

Krieger comes to the college from The Ohio State University’s School of Communication, where she is an associate professor. She is a member of the university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Cancer Control Program and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science Program. She also serves on the Ohio State Center for Population Health Disparities.

Krieger’s primary research focuses on health and interpersonal communication, especially in the area of cancer treatment and prevention, and she has conducted extensive research on prevention, treatment and education programs in the Appalachia Ohio area.

She is the principal investigator for several NIH projects, including a project on the development of family-based clinical trials intervention for rural Appalachian cancer patients through the National Cancer Institute, and a project on adaptation processes in school-based substance abuse prevention funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Her work has been published in the Journal of Health Communication, Prevention Science, American Journal of Community Psychology, Health Communication, Journal of Family Communication, and Health Expectations and Human Communication Research, among others.

A paper she co-authored with one of her doctoral students won the first-place ComSHER Article of the Year Award for AEJMC this year. The article, published in Health Communication, was selected the most outstanding piece in terms of contribution to the field, quality of writing and innovativeness.

Krieger has a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and Spanish from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a master’s degree in speech communication and a doctorate in communication arts and sciences from The Pennsylvania State University.