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Neeraj K. Arora, Ph.D. is a Health Systems Analyst with the Outcomes Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Arora received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering with a major in Health Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His Cancer Control Research evaluates the impact of information seeking, patient participation in decision-making, and patient-physician communication on the health outcomes of cancer patients. Dr. Arora's research expertise also includes measurement and assessment of patient outcomes including satisfaction with care, needs assessment, and quality of life. While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was a key member of Professor David Gustafson's research team that developed and evaluated CHESS, a nationally renowned computer-based health support system. At the NCI, Dr. Arora is currently facilitating a large collaborative project among multiple public and private organizations that focuses on reducing health disparities in cancer.
Matthew Fritts, M.P.H. is a Presidential Management Intern in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch of NCI. He received a B.A. in premedical studies from the University of Virginia in 1997 and an M.P.H. in epidemiology from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in 2000. His thesis explored underreporting of HIV and STD's by primary care physicians to the Washington, DC Department of Health.
Gary L. Kreps, Ph.D., is Chief of the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute. In this position he plans, develops, and coordinates major new national research and outreach initiatives concerning risk communication, health promotion, behavior change, technology development, and information dissemination to promote cancer prevention and control. Prior to joining the National Cancer Institute, he was the Founding Dean of the School of Communication at Hofstra University, New York, and Executive Director of the Greenspun School of Communication at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He also served in faculty and administrative positions at Northern Illinois, Rutgers, Indiana, and Purdue Universities. His areas of expertise include health communication, health promotion, e-health, organizational communication, multicultural relations, and applied research methods. He has published widely (more than 150 books, chapters, and scholarly articles) about communication and society. He has received numerous academic honors, including the "Outstanding Health Communication Scholar Award" (2000) from the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association, and the "Gerald M. Phillips Distinguished Applied Communication Scholarship Award" (1998) from the National Communication Association.
David E. Nelson, M.D., M.P.H. is a Senior Health Scientist in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). His major task at NCI is heading up the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), which is designed to obtain data on communication measures, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that influence the use of health information related to cancer prevention and detection. Dr. Nelson was at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for 11 years prior to joining NCI,. While at CDC, Dr. Nelson was the chief of the Behavior Surveillance Branch, where he managed the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System or BRFSS. The BRFSS is the world's largest telephone health survey and provides local, state, and national data on health risk factors such as smoking and breast cancer screening. In addition to his activities with the BRFSS, Dr. Nelson also has worked in CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, CDC's Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and in private occupational health practice. He has conducted and published research on a wide number of topics such as tobacco, health services, survey methodology, injury, and occupational medicine. He received his medical degree from the Oregon Health Sciences University and his master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, certified in Occupational Medicine.
K. " Vish" Viswanath received his Ph. D. from the University of Minnesota. Before coming to NCI, he was a faculty member in the School of Journalism and Communication at the Ohio State University. He also held an appointment in the School of Public Health at OSU and was a Center Scholar with the OSU's Center for Health Outcomes, Policy and Evaluation Studies. He is interested in using a macrosocial approach to the study of communication. His most recent research has focused specifically on mass communication and social change and health communication in both national and international contexts with particular focus on communication inequities. He was involved in guided social change projects in India and the United States. His Cancer Control Research is focused in communication inequality and its connection to health disparities. He has published on such topics as communication and campaigns, diffusion of new communication technologies, international communication and women and media in different journals including Gazette, Media Culture and Society, Health Communication, Journalism Quarterly, Communication Research, American Behavioral Scientist, and Health Education Research and chapters in a number of books. With David Demers he co-edited a book, Mass Media, Social Control and Social Change published by the Iowa State University Press.
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