K. ‘Vish’ Viswanath honored for tobacco control research, mentoring

K. "Vish" Viswanath

K. “Vish” Viswanath, professor of health communications at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), recently was awarded two national honors. He received the Joseph W. Cullen Award for distinguished achievement in national tobacco control research and advocacy at the American Society of Preventive Oncology annual meeting in March in Arlington, Va. He also is the recipient of the inaugural Dale E. Brashers Award from the National Communication Association, which recognizes communications professionals who go above and beyond to mentor students and young professionals.

Viswanath’s research focuses on communication inequalities and how they contribute to cancer-related health disparities. His community-based research in Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, Mass., addresses how advances in research can be translated to influence public health practices and policies in the community, and how health information is communicated to the public. In addition to his HSPH appointment, he is a professor of health communication in the department of medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and director of the health communications core at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC).

“It is an incredible feeling to be recognized as a model mentor,” said Viswanath, who mentors students and fellows at HSPH and DF/HCC, both informally and through formal advising. “To me, mentoring is a two-way street, and you do it because it is so enriching and you gain a lot from it, just as you hope those you mentor gain a lot.”

Source: Inside the Institute (Dana-Farber)

Learn more

An unhealthy digital divide: Three questions with K. “Vish” Viswanath (HSPH News)