Events

Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our Call to Action newsletter to be the first to hear about upcoming events, including new courses and our ongoing seminar series, Health Communication in a Changing World, presented jointly with the Health Communication Concentration.

Ongoing events

Meetup | Health and science communications research methods  

Coming Fall 2023

Get together regularly with researchers within the vibrant health and science communication research community here at Harvard to exchange knowledge, refine your communication skills, and foster new connections.  

Join us! Sign up now


Meetup | Health journalism ‘bonfires’ 

Coming Fall 2023

Gather around the “bonfire” to critique award-winning examples of health journalism—and learn how to improve your own storytelling along the way.

Join us! Sign up now

Upcoming events

Seminar | Unprecedented: Lessons learned from covering fast moving pandemicsApoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times

Wednesday, September 20 | 1:00–1:50 pm ET |  Kresge 502

Featuring Apoorva Mandavilli, science and health journalist at the New York Times

This is an on-campus event; lunch will be provided. 

Register now

 

 


Past events

Creators Summit on Mental Health @ Harvard Chan SchoolCreators Summit on Mental Health

August 3-4 / all day 

In August 2023, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will reconvene leading creators from our 2023 Creators Summit on Mental Health for an exclusive in-person followup. Participating creators will engage with experts and clinicians at Harvard and beyond to talk about cutting-edge research and policy prescriptions, learn key evidence-based health communication principles, and share their communications expertise with our campus community.  Learn more about our agenda.


Top social media influencers on how to build a successful social-video channel

Creators Summit on Mental HealthFriday, August 4 / 1:00—1:50 pm / Kresge 502 and virtual

Join top mental health influencers for a discussion about how to effectively use TikTok and other social platforms to communicate health information and inspire audiences to act.

This special all-access event, intended for Harvard students and staff, was part of the Center for Health Communication’s invitation-only Creators Summit on Mental Health

 


Creators Summit on Mental HealthCreators Summit on Mental Health

April 5-28 / Virtual 

Throughout April 2023, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will convene an exclusive group of leading mental-health creators for a virtual summit. Participating creators will engage with experts and clinicians at Harvard and beyond to talk about cutting-edge research, emerging policy prescriptions, and critical new resources in mental health. And help shape the future of mental health communication.

Explore the summit and meet our participating creators.


Spring workshop | Learn to use TikTok to share health and science information

Thumbnail of youtube video about tips for scicomm on TikTokTuesday, March 21 and April 4 / 5:30-8:o0 pm ET

Short vertical video—the kind you can’t stop watching on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts—is today’s most popular and compelling story form. Join us to learn how to use this powerful storytelling format and then put what you’ve learned into practice. Expect insider tips and tricks, video best practices, and lots of hands-on practice and feedback.

 

 


Student workshop | From Act Against AIDS to Let’s Stop HIV Together: The 14-year evolution of an HIV campaign

Jo Ellen Stryker of the CDC

Thursday, March 23 / 1-1:50 pm ET

Lessons learned about framing, priority audiences, and unintended effects from Jo Ellen Stryker, Chief of the Prevention Communication Branch in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

 


Panel + Networking Hour | Careers in Health Communication

Cristi Barnett, Emily Kontos, Ekta Saksena, and Jo Stryker

Wednesday, March 22 / 5:30-7:00 pm ET

Join us to learn about the many career options available to those with an interest in health and science communication! A panel discussion and exclusive networking opportunity with Cristi Barnett, VP and Head of Corporate Communications at Editas Medicine; Emily Kontos, Managing Editor at EBSCO Health; Ekta Saksena, Senior Health Communication Specialist at FHI 360; and Jo Stryker, Chief of the Prevention Communication Branch in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the CDC.

 

 


AMA | New York Times global-health reporter Stephanie NolenStephanie Nolen New York Times reporter, global health

 

Wednesday, March 22 / 1-1:50 pm ET

You’ve got questions about how journalism works. Stephanie Nolen, a journalist at the New York Times, has answers. Join this special ask-me-anything event to get your questions answered.

 

 


Student workshop | TikTok, Gen-Z influencers, and the child tax credit: Lessons for public health

Mikka Macdonald of Community Change (left) and Ashwath Narayanan of Social Currant (right)

Wednesday, February 8 / 1-1:50 pm ET

Featuring Mikka Kei Macdonald, creative director, Community Change, and Ashwath Narayanan, founder + CEO, Social Currant. 

 

 

 


New course | Engaging with the Press: A Practical Look at Effective Public Health Communications 

Photo of a group of press photographers taking photos

Fall 2022  

In this 7-class noncredit seminar, Richard J. Tofel, former president of ProPublica and distinguished visiting fellow at Harvard Chan, will give students a deeper understanding of the relationship between public health and the press, a subject of particular importance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read our Q&A with Tofel about why this class matters. Follow us on Twitter to catch up on key lessons learned each week.


Student workshop | How to use narrative to highlight disparities and catalyze change

Photo of Linda Villarosa

Tuesday, November 8 / 1-1:50 pm ET

Featuring Linda Villarosa, contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and author of “Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation.”

 

 

 


Student workshop | Countering health misinformation: What really works 

Photo of Briony Swire-Thompson

Thursday, October 27 / 1-1:50 pm ET

Featuring Briony Swire-Thompson, head of the Psychology of Misinformation Lab at Northeastern University.

 

 

 

 


Student workshop | A COVID-era case study in modern crisis communication 

Photo of Gabby Stern, director of communications at the WHO

Friday, September 30 / 1-1:50 pm ET 

Featuring Gabriella Stern, director of communications at the World Health Organization.

 

 

 

 


Social | Fall open house for health and science communicators  

Illustration of a talk bubble with the "..." symbolized by crumpled up paper

Monday, September 26 / 5-6:30 pm 

Today’s public health leaders must engage with an increasingly fragmented and skeptical world. Join us to learn more about how the Center for Health Communication and the Health Communication Concentration can help you become a more powerful health and science communicator.

 


Journalist Joanne Kenen teaches The Media and the Message: Understanding the Media Landscape and Its Impact on Public Health at Harvard Chan in Spring 2022

Seminar | The Media and the Message: Understanding the Media Landscape and Its Impact on Public Health 

Spring 2022 

In this three-part, noncredit seminar, veteran health journalist Joanne Kenen gave students a clear view of changes in the American media landscape and how they affect public health.

Read one student’s reflections on what they learned in this course.