Andy Tan, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., M.B.B.S.

Andy Tan’s research aims to advance communication science to achieve health equity. He studies inequalities in marketing, media, and message effects among health disparity populations and conducts community-engaged research to design culturally appropriate communication interventions.

Andy Tan is Associate Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication. Tan’s research program is aimed at advancing communication science to achieve health equity for all. His work examines the impact of marketing, media, and public health messages on health behaviors and outcomes among diverse populations including young adults, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. He conducts community-engaged research involving organizations that serve LGBT communities to design and develop culturally appropriate communication interventions that are informed by persuasion and message effects theories, social determinants of health frameworks, and implementation science. He utilizes mixed-methods research designs, including sequential designs integrating multiple data collection and analytic methods (e.g., social media and news content analysis, qualitative interviews and focus groups, digital photovoice and diaries, online surveys, and randomized experimental designs). The goal of this work is to translate this knowledge into scalable and culturally sensitive communication interventions to alleviate tobacco- and cancer-related health disparities.

He mentors students, trainees, and new investigators including individuals from underrepresented minority backgrounds. Tan’s research has received funding from FDA, NCI, and private foundations. He received his medical degree from the National University of Singapore, his Master in Public Health and Master in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University, and his Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication. Prior to his doctoral work, Tan has over 5 years of medical and health promotion experience including designing, implementing, and evaluating strategic communications programs.