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IUPUI

Maria Brann

School of Liberal Arts/Communication Studies

Expert Bio

Maria Brann is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI. Her research focuses on the integration of health, interpersonal and gender communication. Her translational focus and mixed methods approach are woven throughout her health vulnerabilities research, which advocates for more effective communication to improve people’s health.

Her primary research interests focus on the study of women’s issues in health communication contexts and promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors to improve personal and public health and safety. Most notably, she seeks to understand the individual and societal communicative negotiations of birth and pregnancy loss, promotion of more empathic provider communication during bad news delivery, and persuasive public health messaging.

Brann has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous internal and external research grants and contracts. She has won numerous top paper awards from national and regional communication associations and was named Distinguished Lecturer by IU Fort Wayne in recognition of her communication research of miscarriage.

Areas of Expertise

Communication about pregnancy loss, provider communication of bad news and shared decision-making, public health communication about safe and healthy lifestyle choices, communicating support to pregnant women and new mothers.

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