Rati Kumar

Dr. Rati Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at San Diego State University (SDSU), part of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. Her work focuses on critical health communication, particularly addressing health inequities through a lens of displacement (both spatial and systemic) affecting marginalized communities such as refugees, migrant workers, and families impacted by incarceration.

Dr. Kumar’s research emphasizes culturally situated interventions and structural policy change, drawing on community-based participatory methodologies. She serves on the Editorial Board of Journal of Applied Communication Research and leads a Frontiers in Health Communication Research Collection. Her scholarship has appeared in flagship journals like Health Communication and Qualitative Health Research, alongside book chapters and policy white papers.

Her teaching focuses on health, intercultural, conflict, and strategic communication through a social justice framework. Notable research themes include Burmese refugees’ health challenges, Bangladeshi migrant laborer narratives, and child心理健康 amidst parental incarceration.

Her recent work examines neoliberal policies’ impact on migrant labor rights during the pandemic and explores immunomodulatory therapies in pandemic-related pediatric syndromes. Dr. Kumar actively collaborates with academic and community organizations to bridge theory and practice in social justice initiatives.