Xiaoquan Zhao

Xiaoquan Zhao is a Professor in the Department of Communication at George Mason University, within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 and has been a faculty member at GMU since fall 2005. His teaching includes courses in health communication, persuasion, research methods, and health campaigns at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

• Ph.D., Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 2005

Dr. Zhao's research centers on health communication, with a focus on health message design, public communication campaigns, media effects on health and risk perceptions, and health information seeking. His work applies psychological and communication theories to tobacco control, substance use prevention, cancer risk education, medical adherence, and climate change communication. He investigates how message framing, self-affirmation, and emotional appeals influence behavioral intentions and outcomes.

The 15 most recent publications reflect a strong trajectory in evaluating national public health campaigns such as FDA’s The Real Cost and Tips, exploring electronic cigarette prevention, combating health misinformation related to COVID-19, and leveraging media for climate change education. These works span disciplines including public health, psychology, and social science, with consistent publication in high-impact journals like Health Communication, Communication Research, and Social Science & Medicine.

Dr. Zhao has served as editor-in-chief of the journal Health Communication and has been a scientific adviser to the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products since 2014, contributing to national tobacco education initiatives. He was also a Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellow at the FDA from 2013–2014.

He has supervised several doctoral dissertations on topics including advance care planning, medical decision-making in Chinese families, fear appeals in lung cancer prevention, healthcare for individuals with intellectual disabilities, physician training on e-cigarettes, and mother-daughter communication about breast cancer. His research is supported by both public and private funding sources.

Dr. Zhao is affiliated with the Communication, Health, and Relational Media (CHARM) Lab at GMU, which supports interdisciplinary research in health and relational communication. His work bridges academic scholarship and real-world public health policy, particularly through collaborations with federal agencies like the FDA.