Dr. Ellie (Fan) Yang

Assistant Professor

Education

• Ph.D. in Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• MPhil in Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University
• B.A. in Communication, Fudan University

Courses Taught

• Social Media Strategies
• Introduction to Web Publishing
• Introduction to Advertising

Academic Interests

Dr. Yang’s scholarship focuses on media technology and message effects for strategic health communication, using e-health, m-health, and social media support to improve well-being for vulnerable populations. By applying conventional and computational approaches, she observes digital communication patterns of the target audience to provide insight into strategy making for behavior change. She also specializes in media analytics.

Scholarly Activity

12. Yang, E. F., Kornfield, R., Liu, Y., Chih, M. Y., Sarma, P., Gustafson, D. H., Curtin J., & Shah, D. V. (Accepted). Digital traces from a substance use disorder forum: Using machine learning of online expression to explain recovery trajectories. Journal of Medical Internet Research. (Impact Factor 2022: 7.077). 

11. Yang, E. F., Shah, D. V., Tahk, A., Cody, O., Dietz, S., Pe-Romashko, K., Bailey, E., Gicquelais, R., Hwang, J., Gustafson, D., & Westergaard, R. (2023). mHealth and social mediation: Mobile support among stigmatized people living with HIV and substance use disorders. New Media & Society, 25(4), 702-731. (Impact Factor 2022: 5.310).

10. Wang, S. Q., Ning, H., Huang, X., Xiao, Y., Zhang, M., Yang, E. F., Sadahiro, Y., Liu, Y., Ling, Z. L., Hu, T., Fu, X. K., Li, Z., & Zeng, Y. (2023). Public surveillance of social media for suicide using advanced deep learning models in Japan: Time series study from 2012 to 2022. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e47225. (Impact Factor 2022: 7.077). 

9. Yang, E. F. & Yang, S. (2023). Effects of moral frames within vaping prevention messages on current smokers’ support for electronic cigarette regulations. Journal of Health Communication, DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2023.2217104. (Impact Factor 2022: 4.40).

8. Liu, Y., Kornfield, R., Yang, E. F., Burnside, E., Keevil, J., & Shah, D. V. (2022). Patient-provider communication while using a clinical decision support tool: explaining satisfaction with shared decision making for mammography screening. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 22(1), 323. (Impact Factor 2022: 3.95).

7. Rao, J., Chen, K., Yang, E. F., Kruse, J., Hudson, K., & Gao, S. (2021). A multi-perspective narrative-based geovisualization dashboard for the 2020 US presidential election. Journal of Geovisualization and Spatial Analysis, 5(2), 1-15. (Impact Factor 2022: 4.00).

6. Gustafson, D. H., Kornfield, R., Mares, M. L., Johnston, D. C., Cody, O. J., Yang, E. F., ... & Shah, D. V. (2021). Effect of an eHealth intervention on older adults’ quality of life and health-related outcomes: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 1-10. (Impact Factor 2022: 5.70).

5. Yang, E. F., Shah, D. V., Burnside, E. S., Little, T. A., Garino, N., & Campbell, C. E. (2020). Framing the clinical encounter: Shared decision-making, mammography screening, and decision satisfaction. Journal of Health Communication, 25, 681-691. (Impact Factor 2022: 4.40).

4. Du, Y. R., Zhu, L., & Yang, E. F. (2018). A movement of varying faces: How “Occupy Central” was framed in the news in Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, the UK, and the US. International Journal of Communication, 12, 2556-2577. (Impact Factor 2022: 2.04).

3. Yang, E. F. & Du, Y. R. (2016). Storytelling in the age of big data: Hong Kong students’ readiness and attitude towards data journalism. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 26(2), 148-162.

2. Yang, E. F. (2015). The persuasion effect of vivid message: a psychological perspective in communication studies. Journalism Bimonthly, 4, 7-11. (in Chinese)

1. Yang, E. F. & Guo, S. (2015). The moderating effect of imagery ability on perceived vividness: The case of HPV vaccine advertising in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 8 (2), 177 -195. (Impact Factor 2022: 2.82).

Book Chapters

2. Friedland, L.A., Shah, D.V., Wagner, M.W., Wells, C., Cramer, K. J., Pevehouse, J., Dempsey, S., Suk, J., Lukito, J., Yang, E. F., (2022). Healthcare: A national issue with lifeworld implications. In L.A. Friedland, D.V. Shah, M.W. Wagner, C. Wells, K. J. Cramer, & J. Pevehouse (Eds.), Battleground: Asymmetric Communication Ecologies and the Erosion of Civil Society in Wisconsin. Cambridge University Press.

1. Yang, E. F. & Lv, N. (2016). Chapter 15: A brief introduction of communication studies in Hong Kong. In 2015 Yearbook of Communication Academia in China (pp.532-560). Beijing, China: China Social Science Press. (in Chinese)

Other Professional Experience

Prior to pursuing the Ph.D. program, Dr. Yang worked as an online video editor in a media agency in Hong Kong.

Honors and Awards

Dr. Yang won the Improvement of Teaching and Learning Grant at Northwest Missouri State University in 2023.