Jennifer Manganello, Ph.D.

I am a Professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health. I am a health communication scholar who uses theories, concepts, and methods from the fields of public health and communication. My research focuses on health literacy as well as the effects of media on attitudes, behaviors, and policies that put young people (children, adolescents, young adults) at risk for negative health outcomes.

My main area of expertise is health communication. My work in this area has primarily focused on the effects of media and/or technology use on health attitudes, knowledge, and behavior, health information seeking among youth and parents, and identifying best practices for the dissemination of health information to the general public, including through news and social media. It has also involved a focus on health literacy. Much of my work focuses on children, adolescents, young adults and parents, and I often seek to include groups impacted by health disparities. I also examine the use of digital technology for health information and health interventions, also known as eHealth.

I have published my work in journals such as the Journal of Health Communication, Pediatrics, Public Health Management and Practice, Journal of Children and Media, and Public Health Nutrition.

​Before starting at UAlbany, I was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania. I earned my Ph.D. from the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.