1 September 2012 - 12th International Congress of Behavioral ...

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Featured Presenters
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS PANEL
K. Viswanath
USA
Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath is an Associate Professor in the Department of Society, Human
Development, and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and in the Division
of Population Sciences at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). His primary research is
in documenting the relationship between communication inequalities, poverty and health disparities. He has
written more than 120 journal articles and book chapters concerning communication inequalities and health
disparities, knowledge translation, public health communication campaigns, e-health and digital divide, public
health preparedness and the delivery of health communication interventions to underserved populations. He
is the Co-Editor of three books: Mass Media, Social Control and Social Change (Iowa State University Press,
1999), Health Behavior and Health Education: �eory, Research & Practice (Jossey Bass, 2008), and �e Role
of Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use (National Cancer Institute, 2008). He was also the Editor
of the Social and Behavioral Research section of the 12-volume International Encyclopedia of Communication
(Blackwell Publishing, 2008). In recognition of his academic and professional achievements, Dr. Viswanath
received several awards including, Outstanding Health Communication Scholar Award (2010) jointly given
out by the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association and the
Mayhew Derryberry Award from the American Public Health Association (APHA) for his contribution to health
education research and theory (2009). He delivered the 23rd Annual Aubrey Fisher Lecture at University of Utah
in 2009. He was elected Fellow of the International Communication Association (2011), the Society for Behavioral
Medicine (2008) and the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (2006). He was also the Chair of the
Board of Scienti�c Counselors for the National Center for Health Marketing at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta from 2007-2010. He was recently appointed as a member of the National Vaccine
Advisory Committee (NVAC) of the U. S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Suzanne Bennett Johnson
USA
Suzanne Bennett Johnson, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University
(FSU) College of Medicine and 2012 President of the American Psychological Association. She
received her B.A. in psychology from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology
from SUNY at Stony Brook. She is licensed to practice in Florida and is Board Certi�ed in Clinical Health
Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. From 2002-2010, she served as the �rst Chair
of the Department of Medical Humanities and Social Sciences at FSU College of Medicine in Tallahassee. Prior
to that time, she was a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Pediatric Psychology and Family
Studies at the University of Florida Health Science Center in Gainesville. From 2001-2002, she was a Robert
Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, working in the o�ce of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dr. Johnson has
numerous publications in the areas of pediatric psychology and clinical health psychology and has received many
research, teaching and service awards. She is considered an expert in the areas of medical regimen adherence,
behavioral aspects of childhood diabetes, pediatric obesity, and the psychological impact of genetic screening
on children and families. She has over 30 years of continuous research funding from the National Institutes of
Health, including a Research Career Development Award.
Featured Presenters
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS PANEL
Brian Oldenburg
Australia
Brian Oldenburg (Ph.D) is Professor of International Public Health and Associate Dean (Global
Health and International Campuses) at Monash University in Australia. His research program
focuses on health policy, global health and the primary and control of chronic conditions, such
as diabetes and heart disease. He has conducted research in health-care settings, work organisations, schools and
other community settings in Australia and in countries such as China, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa
and Finland. He holds Honorary Professorships in Finland and at University of Queensland and Beijing CDC.
Marta Novak
Hungary
Marta Novak is an associate professor of psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University
of Toronto and at the Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Semmelweis University in Budapest,
Hungary. She obtained her medical degree, did her residency in Psychiatry and completed her
PhD at the Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Her clinical and research interests focus on the epidemiology and signi�cance of sleep disorders as well as mental
health, sleep disorders and quality of life in medically ill patients. Her other interest involves psychosocial issues
in patients with chronic kidney disease and their families and works intensively on the �eld of psychonephrology,
with a focus on interpersonal psychotherapy and group therapy as well as interprofessional education. She is a
founding member and the secretary of the European Association of Psychosomatic Medicine.
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