Member Biography

Katy Head, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Indiana University Indianapolis and is affiliate faculty with the IU Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics. Her research focuses on communication about health, with a focus on vaccination and cancer screenings, and she has published in journals such as Health Communication, Qualitative Health Research, American Journal of Public Health, and Preventive Medicine. As a translational scholar, she also disseminates her work to broader audiences at schools, clinics, and community organizations. She regularly teaches classes on health communication, research methods, patient-provider communication, eHealth communication, and health communication campaigns. Head earned her PhD in communication from the University of Kentucky in 2013, with a minor concentration in public health. Dr. Head has served as assistant director of the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement since spring 2023.