A short biography of Professor Kreps
Gary L. Kreps (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is a University
Distinguished Professor at George Mason University, where he directs the
Center for Health and Risk Communication.
His research examines the ways strategic interpersonal, mediated, and digital
communication can enhance health promotion, risk prevention, health
advocacy, and quality of care, especially for vulnerable populations. His work is published in more than
380 influential books, articles, and chapters.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Health Behavior and has received numerous scholarly awards
for his research and service activities. He serves as a scientific advisor to many domestic and
international health agencies, foundations, and corporations. He co-directs the Global Advocacy
Leadership Academy that promotes development of effective, engaged health advocacy organizations
around the world, and coordinates the Fairfax County Health Literacy Initiative community-based
collaborative that promotes health for at-risk populations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Before joining the faculty at George Mason University, he served as the founding Chief of the Health
Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute, where he helped
introduce many important health communication research initiatives, including the Health Information
National Trends Survey, the Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research, the Health
Communication Interventions Research Program, and the Digital Divide Pilot Program. He also has
served as the founding Dean of the School of Communication at Hofstra University, Executive Director of
the Greenspun School of Communication at UNLV, and as a professor at Northern Illinois, Rutgers,
Indiana, and Purdue Universities.