K. “Vish” Viswanath, PhD, is director of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health India Research Center. He is also the Lee Kum Kee Professor of Health Communication at Harvard Chan. He holds a joint appointment at the MacGraw-Patterson Center for Population Sciences at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is director of the Center for Translational Health Communication Science at the Harvard Chan School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Professor Viswanath has an extensive track record of research in the U.S. and globally on the role of health communication in health and well-being, with a particular interest in the issues of inequalities and poverty. His research portfolio, funded by U.S. federal agencies as well as various national and international foundations, includes studies on the use of new information and communication technologies in health promotion; the role of communication in public health emergencies; vaccination; tobacco control; and cancer prevention. He has been recognized by numerous organizations for his research contributions to public health policy and practice.
He is a co-chair of the India Learning Network on Tobacco Control (iLEARNT), a network formed to accelerate tobacco-control efforts through collaboration and sharing of lessons learned among government, civil, and corporate sectors in India. Among his projects in India include work with a Foundation on tobacco cessation among patients, scientific advisory to the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences, Ashoka University and work on an Initiative to Promote Evidence-Based Public Health among decision-makers, practitioners and journalists.
For a more detailed biography of Professor Viswanath, please visit his faculty page.