People
Director
Sojung Claire Kim is an Associate Professor and a Founding Director of the Communication, Health, and Relational Media (CHARM) Lab in the Department of Communication at George Mason University. Her research interests broadly lie at the intersections of emerging technologies, health and risk communication, and strategic messaging. Kim received her doctorate in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her post-doctoral fellowship in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Current Members (Meet the CHARMpions!💚)
[CHARM Lab FA25 Research Meeting] From left to right, Sogol, Debby, Siyoon, Farhan, Sissy, Katie, Narges
[CHARM Lab SP25 Social] From left to right, Katie, Narges, Lia, Sogol, Debby, Dr. Kim, and Juli
[CHARM Lab FA24 Social] From left to right, Debby, Juli, Aaron, Dr. Kim, Katie, and Sogol
Wanlun (Debby) Chang (Ph.D. Candidate): Her research interests lie in strategic communication and communication technologies. She joined the lab research group in Fall 2024 and is leading the parasocial interaction (PSI) project.
Narges Ghafary (Ph.D. Candidate): Her scholarship focuses on the critical intersections of immigrant health, intersectionality, and social change. Her current research is informed by extensive field experience, including her work with UNICEF on behavioral change interventions and with World Vision on strategic campaigns addressing community health, women's empowerment, and child marriage.
Farhan Rabbi (Ph.D. Student): Rabbi’s research explores the cognitive and psychological dimensions of visual health communication. His current inquiry examines the interaction between message humor and image source types, specifically analyzing their combined influence on health risk perceptions and behavioral intentions.
Oare Addeh (Ph.D. Student): Her research broadly centers around health communication and health equity. Currently she is involved in skin cancer messaging research as well as the public understanding of the AI use and adoption among Gen Z populations.
Siyoon Lee (Ph.D. Student): She is interested in the mechanisms of health misinformation correction and the psychological impact of communication technologies. This semester, she is investigating how different media platforms would influence individuals’ misinformation perception and other related outcomes.
Undergraduate Researchers
Juliana Marcello (Undergraduate Student): She is interested in studying strategic communication practices in health contexts. She contributes to the lab’s collaborative research efforts, specifically supporting the data collection and analysis phases of the parasocial relationship project.
Sogol Khermandar (Undergraduate Student): She is interested in examining health communication messaging strategies, with a particular emphasis on mental health advocacy and intervention. In the lab, she is investigating the role of parasocial relationships in shaping mental health discourses of social media users.
Kaitlin Cashin, MA (Chief Public Officer, United States Air Force): Cashin’s academic work focused on strategic communication theories and their practical applications within military communities. Currently, she is leading the data collection and qualitative thematic analysis of the military identity and dating project, and hopes to apply when she learns from the project to enhance the Air Force public affairs practices.
Lia Zakiyyah, Ph.D. (Senior Climate Communication & Policy Expert, Doc & Doc Consulting, LLC): Dr. Zakiyyah’s research centers around climate change communication, social identity, and collective action. While at Mason, she was actively involved in the Center for Climate Change Communication (4C) as well as the CHARM lab as a graduate research assistant.
Eryn Campbell, Ph.D. (Research Analyst, GoodPower): Dr. Campbell’s research centers around topics regarding climate change and health communication.
Nate S. Brophy, Ph.D. (Statistical Analyst, University of Tennessee-Knoxville): Dr. Brophy’s scholarly interests encompass health communication, end-of-life communication, and persuasive and instructional messaging.
Christian Seiter, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Human Communication Studies, California State University-Fullerton): Dr. Seiter's research focuses on motivating families to find realistic and meaningful ways to engage in advance healthcare planning.
Katherine Hyatt Hawkins, Ph.D. (Social Scientist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)): As the CHARM Lab’s first research assistant, Dr. Hawkins managed diverse research projects, including instrument development, data collection, and biometric analysis. She played a key role in writing manuscripts for publication, and these experiences refined the technical expertise she later applied to her eye-tracking work at the National Cancer Institute.