Amelia Burke-Garcia

Dr. Amelia Burke-Garcia is a health communication scientist and strategist with over 20 years of experience studying how people seek, trust, and act on health information — and what happens when the systems delivering that information change. She directs the Center for Health Communication Science at NORC at the University of Chicago, where she designs and implements strategies that leverage the science of communication to influence behavior. In this role, she also founded NORC's Health Communication AI Initiative and leads development of THIA (Trusted Health Information Assistant), a research platform studying how people engage with and respond to AI-delivered health information.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Burke-Garcia has spearheaded some of the most innovative communication programs and studies in public health. She directed the award-winning national mental health campaign How Right Now/Que Hacer Ahora, developed in partnership with the CDC and CDC Foundation to increase coping and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, she served as director for the CDC's National Influenza Vaccination Campaign and led digital strategy for the agency's entire immunization portfolio. She has also partnered with MeetUp groups and the Waze mobile application to move people to action around flu vaccination and HIV testing, respectively. She has also authored a framework for evaluating health communication campaigns.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Burke-Garcia has examined the role of social media influencers in shaping health beliefs and behavior — from co-leading an NIH-funded study on how "mommy bloggers" affect breast cancer risk awareness, to studying how influencers' messages shape their followers' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs around vaccines. Her current portfolio builds on this foundation, spanning AI intervention design and evaluation in health systems and AI communication tool assessment.

She is the author of two books: "Influencing Health: A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Online Influencers" and "Communicating Through a Pandemic: A Chronicle of Experiences, Lessons Learned, and a Vision for the Future." Her work has been recognized by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in honor of Women's History Month, and she has been named to VeryWellHealth's list of 10 Modern Female Innovators Shaking Up Health Care.

Dr. Burke-Garcia advises and serves on boards across the health, technology, and social impact sectors, including startups, non-profits, and other established organizations. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for Vaccinate Your Family and is a founding member of the Society for Health Communication. She holds a PhD in Communication from George Mason University, a master's degree from Georgetown University, and a bachelor's degree from McGill University.