UM School of Communication and Miller School Team Up on Health Messaging
The Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation Health Communication Grants will fund a multidisciplinary collaboration to create community-focused health messaging.
University of Miami School of Communication lecturer Rhonda Trust, Ph.D., will work next to Shria Kumar, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases and a colorectal cancer researcher at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, to develop a media campaign promoting H. pylori screenings, a test that detects a bacterium that can infect the stomach and cause ulcers and other digestive issues.
The community-centered project is a unique, innovative collaboration between the School of Communication and the Miller School that melds medical knowledge with communications skills to help the community.
Essential in shaping this collaboration were Latha Chandran, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., executive dean for education at the Miller School, and Rose Maria van Zuilen, Ph.D., professor of professional practice in the Department of Medical Education at the Miller School.
“We’re seeing an impressive level of innovation,” said Dr. van Zuilen. “Think about how many people this work can potentially impact. These projects are exactly what we’re looking for with this program.”
“Receiving this grant allows me to collaborate with an M.D. on a social media campaign promoting H. pylori screenings, an initiative that directly aligns with the School of Communication’s health communication mission,” said Dr. Trust. “This project is community-centered, aiming to make a meaningful impact within Greater Miami through targeted outreach and education.”
We’re seeing an impressive level of innovation. Think about how many people this work can potentially impact.
—Dr. Rose Maria van Zuilen
For the next two years, this initiative will be funded by the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation Health Communication Grants, which allows for collaboration and interdisciplinary initiatives between the two schools. The project also involves at least one graduate student from either school.
In addition to the H. pylori screening initiative, two additional communications will be funded:
• “Enhancing Early Detection of Nail Unit Malignancies: Educating Nail Technicians Through Advanced Certification and Health Communication Intervention,” to be led by Brian Morrison, M.D., associate professor in the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the Miller School, and Nick Carcioppolo, Ph.D., associate professor of communication studies.
• NET-AI, an AI-informed, spatially explicit, social network-based communication model designed to increase breast cancer clinical trial participation among underrepresented populations, specifically Black and Latino communities, led by Mariano Kanamori, Ph.D., associate professor of public health sciences at the Miller School, and Sanjeev Chatterjee, professor of cinema at UM.
“We are immensely grateful to Jeri Wolfson for having the initiative to invite our communication school to collaborate with the Miller School of Medicine,” said Karin Wilkins, Ph.D., dean of UM’s School of Communication. “Together our collective work benefits patient experience, health professional education and essential research. Health communication is central to our school mission, contributing to healthy behaviors and outcomes, constructive health care interactions and exceptional educational experiences.”
Konstantia Kontaxis, the School of Communication’s associate dean for research and creative activity, said, “These grants have been crucial in strengthening the school’s role in health communication while fostering a robust partnership with the Miller School of Medicine. They support innovative educational interventions that advance health communication strategies, benefiting both our academic community and the wider public.”
“Our curriculum emphasizes real-world applications, such as public health campaigns, misinformation correction and behavior change communication,” she said. “These grants have allowed us to further develop and implement these strategies, making a meaningful impact on public health.”
Tags: cancer screening, Dr. Shria Kumar, H. pylori infection, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center