Read HCC alumni stories!
Kelly D. Blake, Sc.D.
Health Scientist and Program Director
Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch (primary)
Tobacco Control Research Branch (secondary)
Behavioral Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Career before and after HSPH
Kelly D. Blake is a health scientist and program director in the National Cancer Institute’s Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, with a secondary appointment in the Tobacco Control Research Branch. She directs a program of research on media effects and serves as part of the management team for NCI’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) (http://hints.cancer.gov/). Her research examines how media exposure influences health behavior and attitudes toward public health policy. She also examines social determinants of health, focusing on how communication inequalities and knowledge gaps exacerbate health disparities among disadvantaged populations.
Prior to re-joining NCI in 2009, Dr. Blake was a cancer prevention fellow and research assistant at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2005-2009), working in the Viswanath Lab while she pursued her doctoral training. During that time, she also did private consulting work in health communication and served as a teaching fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Before that, she served as a science writer and editor in NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Office of the Director (2001-2005), and prior to that, she was a hospital-based public health educator and site coordinator for the West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships Program (1997-2001), and a health communication research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1996-1997).
Tell me about your current job, and how do you feel about it.
The best thing about my job at NCI is that I not only get to pursue my own lines of scientific inquiry, but I also work with PIs at academic institutions and cancer centers around the country to conceptualize their NIH grant proposals and study aims. It really makes my day when one of “my” grantees’ projects gets funded, and I get to watch the science progress over the life of the grant. It’s also great to be at NCI and be involved in setting the agenda for behavioral research at the national level – to be at the table to advocate for the importance of health communication science and multilevel interventions in cancer prevention and control.
What was the best thing about HCC?
The best thing about the Health Communication Concentration at HSPH was Vish’s leadership and his enthusiasm for his students’ research questions and ideas. His experience and knowledge exposed me to theories and frameworks from disciplines that might not have otherwise been covered in the public health curriculum.
How has HCC helped your career after HSPH?
I think the HCC gave me exposure to a lot of great scholars and thinkers who are grounded in traditional communication research, but innovative and nimble enough to apply it to the changing communication environment and an array of public health problems and settings.
Message to prospective students
It’s very easy to get bogged down with all the required reading, homework assignments, exams, etc., but try not to miss opportunities to go to great talks and network with people outside your department. Also, your time at HSPH is what you make of it. If you come to your faculty prepared to discuss research questions and how best to pursue them, they will give you good feedback and direction if they know you have thought seriously about your topic.
Emma Rodgers, S.M.
Senior Program Manager, Senior Program Manager
Career before and after HSPH
Before HSPH, I was an Associate Director of Planning and Buying at HN Media & Marketing in NYC. In this position, I managed online, outdoor, and print media buys for the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, NY State Department of Health and other clients. After HSPH, I wanted more experience in community organizing and policy work, so I took a position as the Bronx Borough Organizer for the NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City. In this role, I helped develop, implement and evaluate citywide and Bronx-focused tobacco control campaigns and coordinated the coalition’s communications work.
Tell me about your current job, and how do you feel about it.
In collaboration with faith-based and health organizations, schools, residents, government agencies and community leaders, I help lead community-based public health programs that aim to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes in the Bronx. This includes overseeing grants from the CDC that focus on increasing opportunities for healthy eating and active living and reducing exposure to second hand smoke and excessive and underage drinking. The work is very challenging and exciting. It allows me to pursue my many interests and strengthen a variety of skills. I feel extremely fortunate to work with amazing partners on such important issues.
What was the best thing about HCC?
The classes. I had a lot of practical experience in health communications from my work as a media buyer and planner in NYC, but I wanted to have a better understanding of the theories behind the campaigns and how to evaluate them. The coursework provided this background. Also, Dr. Viswanath was a wonderful mentor! It was very challenging to go back to school after working for four years. Dr. Viswanath provided great support and encouragement while I was at HSPH and helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my career.
How has HCC helped your career after HSPH?
While I am not directly working in the health communications field right now, I find that I use the skills that I acquired in the HCC every day. Communications is a large part of all public health initiatives and a skill set that all organizations, large and small, are looking for their employees to have. Also, media and marketing campaigns are a large part of most major grants. My academic and professional background in health communications has allowed me to lead these initiatives and will only provide more opportunities in the future.
Message to prospective students
Identify a mentor and learn as much as you can from them. Also, don’t be afraid to lean on them for support. HSPH can be very overwhelming! Most of the professors are very busy, but they will make time for you if you are persistent. Finally, take advantage of all opportunities where you can apply what you’re learning in the classroom to the real world. I helped develop a media campaign while interning at the Boston Public Health Commission. I learned a tremendous amount through this experience and it greatly influenced what I wanted to do after HSPH.
Ayano Ogawa, S.M.
Research Associate, Institute of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Career before and after HSPH
Prior to HSPH, I received my BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and worked on child health and health education projects in Baltimore, South Africa, Taiwan, and Bangladesh. During HSPH, I pursued my interest in health communication, child health, and global health at Sesame Workshop (the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street), where I developed stakeholder engagement strategies for Sesame Global Health Initiative and recommended ways to build accessible health messages designed to instill healthy habits in children and their caregivers in South Asia and West Africa. After HSPH, my career has focused on strategic communication of evidence-based health information to decision-makers at USAID and other federal agencies.
Tell me about your current job, and how do you feel about it.
I am a Research Associate at Institute of Medicine (IOM), a non-profit that provides unbiased and authoritative advice to decision-makers and the public. Currently, I support a consensus study sponsored by the FDA that will assess the use of individual-based models to improve the effect of tobacco regulation policies on public health. IOM is an intellectually stimulating environment, where I have the privilege to work with leading scholars who shape public health priorities and policies, and have the opportunity to apply the skills I gained from HSPH and HCC.
What was the best thing about HCC?
The chair of HCC, Dr. Viswanath, has continually inspired me, even after I have graduated from HSPH. As one of the top leaders of health communication in the world, he has provided me with tools to develop communication strategies that would empower people to make informed health decisions, and positively affect behavior change from the ground to policy level. He has also been a wonderful mentor, who has taken the time to help me explore my career options and build my professional network.
Additionally, I loved taking the variety of courses HCC offers. As I took courses from not only HSPH but also other Harvard faculties, I have expanded the way I think and practice health communication. I gained a range of communication skills through a multidisciplinary approach, such as how to design, implement and evaluate health information tailored to different kinds of populations (HSPH and HGSE), strategically communicate health issues to policy makers (HKS), and negotiate with diverse stakeholders in public health (FAS).
How has HCC helped your career after HSPH?
The skills I gained from HCC inform most of the tasks I do in my career thus far. I frequently apply what I learned from the concentration to facilitate stakeholder decision-making, and translate complex health data into easily accessible information so my audience can clearly understand relevant options and next steps.
Message to prospective students
I would encourage prospective students to consider concentrating in health communication. HCC offers a multitude of skills that are useful for any public health professional working in the nonprofit, for-profit or public sector. For me, I rely on the tools I have acquired from HCC at a non-profit health policy organization. HCC also helps students boost interpersonal communication skills and critically interact with health information disseminated in an environment that is increasingly overwhelmed with conflicting health messages.
