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NORC at the University Chicago
Amelia is a seasoned health communications professional with 20 years of experience in health communication program planning, implementation, and evaluation.

At NORC, she leads the organization's Center for Health Communication Science and Digital Strategy and Outreach Program Area. In these roles, she designs and implements strategies that leverage the science of communication to influence behavior. 

Over the course of her career, Burke-Garcia has spearheaded innovative communication programs and studies on a variety of health topics. Since 2020, she has overseen the award-winning How Right Now/Que Hacer Ahora campaign, which aims to increase people’s ability to cope and be resilient. Other prior work has included acting as director for CDC’s National Influenza Vaccination Campaign. She also has worked with MeetUp groups and the Waze mobile application to move people to action around flu vaccination and HIV testing, respectively. Finally, she has been examining the role of influencers in health communication and research for more than a decade and is now leading Health Communication AI, a portfolio of work that is examining how AI can be used as a tool to reimagine how we communicate health information and support people’s health and wellbeing.

She is the author of two books, Influencing Health: A Comprehensive Guide to Working with Social Media Influencers, and Communicating through a Pandemic: A Chronicle of Experiences, Lessons Learned, and a Vision for the Future.

She has been highlighted by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for her work in honor of Women’s History Month and has been named to VeryWellHealth.com’s list of 10 Modern Female Innovators Shaking Up Health Care. 

She is a founding member of the Society for Health Communication and sits on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Vaccinate Your Family. 

She earned her bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies and Humanistic Studies from McGill University, a master’s degree in Communication, Culture, and Technology from Georgetown University, and a PhD in Communication from George Mason University.

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Expertise

Education

PhD

George Mason University

MA

Georgetown University

BA

McGill University

Appointments & Affiliations

Board Member

Vaccinate Your Family

Founding Member

Society for Health Communication

Scientific Committee

BigSurv

Honors & Awards

Recognized by U.S. Surgeon General | 2022

From Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in honor of Women’s History Month

10 Modern Female Innovators Shaking Up Health Care | 2020

VeryWellHealth.com

Project Contributions

Partnering with Social Media Influencers as Messengers to Reduce Vaccine Hesitancy

Engaging social media influencers to help understand HPV vaccine hesitancy in African American or Black, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native communities

Client:

Merck

Engaging Online Influencers to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

An intervention to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Native American parents through online influencers

Client:

Pfizer

Older Adults’ Perception of the RSV Vaccine

A longitudinal assessment of vaccine knowledge and behaviors

Funder:

NORC at the University of Chicago

Developing a Supervised Model of Online COVID Vaccine Information

Examining AI biases in model development to accurately detect and classify online COVID-19 vaccine information

Client:

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Evaluating CDC’s Approaches to Enhancing Adult Immunization Uptake

A culturally responsive evaluation of CDC’s efforts to boost adult immunization uptake and reduce disparities

Client:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Health Communication AI

Combining the trust-building ability of digital opinion leaders with the scalability of AI to revolutionize health communication

How Right Now / Qué Hacer Ahora

A communication initiative to increase people’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Client:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Foundation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

HPV Vaccine Perceptions: Young Adults & TikTok Influencers

Engaging non-college 18- to 26-year-olds and TikTok influencers to explore perceptions of the HPV vaccine and health messaging

Client:

Merck

Postpartum Emergency Care Materials Development & Testing

Applying communication science to develop, test, and promote resources supporting clinician readiness for pregnancy-related emergencies

Client:

American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists

Publications

Research Library & Findings