Daniel Romer

Daniel Romer, Ph.D., serves as Research Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, where he has conducted research since 1990. His work focuses on media and social influences on adolescent health, with emphasis on risky behavior transmission, television news effects on race relations, and education's role in civic engagement.

His research program spans:

• Adolescent risk behaviors and developmental pathways
• Tobacco control and pictorial warning label efficacy
• Media effects on vaccination attitudes and conspiracy beliefs
• Young driver risk assessment and policy interventions
• Firearm violence portrayal in media and public health impacts

Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal intensified focus on social media's role in tobacco promotion, conspiracy theories affecting public health compliance, and neurocognitive underpinnings of adolescent risk-taking. His work integrates communication science, neuroscience, and policy analysis to address health disparities.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Award-winning co-edited volume Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders (2005)

Major funding sources demonstrate sustained impact:

• National Institute of Mental Health: Four-city intervention reducing unprotected sex
• National Institute on Drug Abuse: Philadelphia cohort study on drug use initiation
• National Cancer Institute: Pictorial cigarette warning label research

He serves on NIH/NSF review panels and editorial boards including Youth and Society and Tobacco Regulatory Science, leading APPC's interdisciplinary research on evidence-based policy solutions.