Xiaoli Nan

Xiaoli Nan is a Professor of Communication Science and Director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication at the University of Maryland-College Park. She is affiliated with the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center's Population Science Program.

• Education: Ph.D. from University of Minnesota
• Teaching: Health communication, persuasion, media effects, quantitative methods
• Research Focus: Persuasion science, health communication, misinformation, advertising

Her research examines how persuasive communication influences beliefs and behaviors, particularly in public health contexts such as vaccination, pandemics, food safety, and cancer prevention. She has secured over $8.5 million in grants from NIH, NSF, FDA, and other agencies. Her work integrates communication theory with behavioral interventions to address health disparities and improve risk messaging.

Recent publications analyze trends in COVID-19 communication, vaccine hesitancy, narrative persuasion, and temporal framing effects. Her experimental studies explore strategies like self-affirmation and norm-based messaging to reduce defensive responses and enhance health campaign efficacy.

• Awards: Mayhew Derryberry Award (2018), Lewis Donohew Outstanding Health Communication Scholar (2020), NCA Outstanding Health Communication Scholar (2022)
• Editorial Roles: Senior Editor for Health Communication (2018–present), Editorial Board member of Human Communication Research and Communication Research
• Professional Leadership: Former Vice-Chair/Chair of NCA Health Communication Division, AEJMC committee roles