Nan Yu, Ph.D.

Department of Communication, North Dakota State University

nan yu

Nan Yu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Office: Minard 338 C6
Email: nan.yu@ndsu.edu
Office: 701-231-7300
Fax: 701-237-7784

Biography

Dr. Yu's research focuses on health communication and communication technology with an emphasis on health promotion using digital technologies and health messages tailored to specific audience members. Her scholarly work includes studies pertaining to health information seeking, immigrant health, health message effects, social and cultural construction of health, global health, and user experience of touch-screen devices. Dr. Yu currently serves as the associate editor of Asian Journal of Communication.


Dr. Yu's research has been published in premier peer-reviewed journals such as Health Communication, Information Sciences, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Visual Communication Quarterly, Electronic News, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, and International Public Health Journal. Her research has been supported by national and regional funding agencies such as National Science Foundation, AEJMC Emerging Scholars Program, and Dakota Medical Foundation. She is the founder of the Interactive Media Lab at NDSU.


Dr. Yu joined the NDSU Department of Communication in Fall 2009, after receiving her Ph.D. from Penn State University. She earned her master's degree from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. She received her B.A. from Peking University in her hometown of Beijing, China.


Before Dr. Yu joined the NDSU faculty, she was a staff reporter for China Daily covering a variety of topics including social, educational, political, and environmental changes in China. Additionally, she had working experience in two national TV networks, CNN (International Newsgathering, Atlanta) and China Central TV (Sports Channel, Beijing). In 2004, she was honored with a China News Award, the most prestigious journalistic award in China, for a story about disease-control staff investigation of the SARS virus chain.