Dr. Changmin Yan is currently an Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations. Dr. Yan is a communication scholar with expertise in health promotion, public engagement, and translational research. His work transforms scientific evidence into actionable strategies that improve lives and inform community practice and public policy. Grounded in a belief that every voice matters and every community counts, Dr. Yan’s research centers on highlighting the everyday experiences and needs of communities and turning scientific evidence into real-world impact. His interdisciplinary projects, supported by over $8.3 million in external grant funding from NIH, USDA, and the University of Nebraska, tackle urgent public health issues through community-engaged, policy-relevant strategies.

Dr. Yan specializes in stakeholder-centered communication. He works closely with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and local organizations to co-develop messaging frameworks and outreach materials that support informed decision-making. His recent projects have produced systematic reviews, policy briefs, media toolkits, and branded public health campaigns tailored to real-world needs.

He has a strong track record of community-based participatory research, including immersive virtual reality interventions addressing microaggressions, smart voice assistant interventions to reduce loneliness and pain among older adults, and collaborations with healthcare organizations to reduce nanoplastic exposure risks. His work reflects a deep commitment to co-creating research with those most affected and to producing communication products that elevate public understanding, shape policy conversations, and drive system-level changes.

Dr. Yan has led high-impact, grant-funded research across diverse areas including environmental health, early childhood development, gerontology, and healthcare access. Notable initiatives such as Addressing Health Disparities in Nebraska, Nurture Nebraska, and Nebraska Nanoplastics have resulted in statewide symposia and public-facing materials that translate complex science into clear, actionable messages for policymakers, practitioners, and families.

Dr. Yan’s publications reflect a strong commitment to interdisciplinary, impact-driven scholarship. His research has been published in high-impact journals such as the Journal of Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, Frontiers in Public Health, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, JMIR Formative Research, Pain Management Nursing, and Geriatrics. He currently serves on the editorial board of Media Psychology and is an affiliate of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools.

Dr. Changmin Yan teaches in the advertising and public relations (ADPR) sequence. Dr. Yan’s teaching portfolio includes a wide range of advertising and public relations undergraduate courses, such as introduction to ADPR, strategy development, brands and branding, media planning and strategy, paid owned and earned media, data analysis and consumer insights, ADPR research, and capstone IMC campaigns, and graduate courses, such as persuasion, strategic health promotion, data analysis and insights, and research methods. He has taught at different universities including the University of Nebraska, West Virginia University, Washington State University, the University of Maine, the Pennsylvania State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His industry experience includes media planning and research at Publicis Groupe and digital media strategy at Razorfish, serving clients, such as New York City Department of Health, P&G, McDonald’s, Verizon, LVMH, and Microsoft.

Dr. Yan earned his B.A. in Communication from the University of Colorado at Denver, his M.A. in Communication Studies with a graduate certificate in International Development from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park.