ÖZLEM DUĞAN

Assoc. Prof. Özlem Duğan serves at Uşak University's Faculty of Communication, Department of Public Relations and Advertising since 2015, advancing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor in 2020. Holding a PhD in Public Relations from Selcuk University (2015), she specializes in crisis communication, gender representation in advertising, and health communication within digital environments.

• Doctorate: Selcuk University, Institute of Social Sciences, Public Relations and Publicity (2011-2015)
• Undergraduate: Selcuk University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism (1998-2002)

Her research focuses on crisis communication dynamics during pandemics and disasters, gender stereotype deconstruction through advertising, and social media's role in health literacy. Current projects analyze generational gender perceptions in advertising and AI integration in public relations curricula. She investigates how organizations navigate trust-building during crises like the Israel-Palestine conflict and healthcare violence incidents through digital platforms.

Her 70+ publications include the bibliometric analysis of 22 years of science communication research and studies on YouTube viewers' emotional responses to healthcare violence. This body of work reveals consistent exploration of media framing in risk societies, with increasing emphasis on digital native communication strategies post-2020.

• Managed EU-supported Act-Able Project (2020-2023)
• Currently leads TUBITAK-funded AI curriculum research (2025)
• Advised 8 graduate theses on digital literacy, crisis communication, and gender perceptions

As Head of Uşak University's Graduate School of Education (2022-2024) and current Unit Quality Commission member, she bridges academic leadership with research innovation. Her non-academic background includes press management at Selçuk University Hospital and communications coordination at Selçuk University, providing practical grounding for her crisis communication expertise.