معرفی
Dr. Zhaozhang Sun serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham and the Centre for National Training and Research Excellence in Understanding Behaviour (CENTRE-UB). She concurrently holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position at Xi'an Jiaotong University's Global Health Research Institute in China. Her ESRC-funded fellowship project focuses on addressing Type 2 Diabetes stigma through digital influencer interventions in collaboration with Diabetes UK.
Her educational background includes:
- PhD in Health Communication and Diabetes Management from King's College London (2019-2024)
- MA in International Journalism with Distinction from University of Leeds (2016-2017)
- BA from Central South University, graduating as valedictorian (1/7,772 students)
Dr. Sun's research integrates computational methods with public health to examine how social media influencers shape health narratives around chronic diseases. Her work develops methodological frameworks like the Social Network-Based Influencer Identification Model (SNIIM) and Twitter-based Integrated Diabetes Narrative Exploration Framework (TIDNEF). She specializes in cross-cultural health communication between the UK and China, with emphasis on diabetes and obesity management.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on digital health interventions for chronic disease management, particularly examining social media's role in diabetes stigma reduction. Her work demonstrates increasing interdisciplinary integration of computational methods, public health policy, and cross-cultural communication strategies, with significant contributions to both academic literature and practical health campaign development.
Her notable recognitions include:
- International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Fellowship (2025)
- National Scholarship during undergraduate studies
- Dean's Scholarship during undergraduate studies
- Valedictorian honors at Central South University
As Principal Investigator of the ESRC-funded project "Addressing Type 2 Diabetes Stigma through Strategic Digital Influencer Interventions," Dr. Sun leads a team collaborating with Diabetes UK to develop evidence-based anti-stigma campaigns. She has contributed significantly to major initiatives including translating the World Obesity Atlas into Chinese and supporting China's Technology Innovation 2030 Initiative for chronic disease prevention. Her industry experience includes roles at Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Science and Technology Daily, enhancing her translational research capabilities.
Dr. Sun works within the Centre for National Training and Research Excellence in Understanding Behaviour (CENTRE-UB), where she applies interdisciplinary methodologies combining media studies, sociology, computational analysis, and public health to develop scalable interventions that address complex health challenges and enhance health equity.
