Shaunak Sastry , PHD

Dr. Shaunak Sastry, Ph.D. is Professor of Communication at the University of Cincinnati and Director of The Cincinnati Project, a center for community-engaged research. His research and teaching interests are in the areas of health and culture, globalization and health, and the cultural politics of infectious diseases. His work combines ethnographic and field-based methods with critical analysis of public discourses of health. His work has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals like Human Communication Research, Health Communication, Communication Theory, Journal of Health Communication, Culture, Health & Sexuality, Frontiers in Communication, and Journal of International andIntercultural Communication, in addition to several book chapters and more than 40 paper presentations at national and international conferences. He is a senior editor of the journal Health Communication and sits on the editorial boards of several other academic journals. He is the Chair of the National Communication Association’s (NCA) Research Council and is immediate past-chair of the Asian and Pacific American Caucus at NCA. He is an inductee of the 2024-2045 Provostal Fellow Program. 

Ph.D.: Purdue University West Lafayette, IN, 2012 (Communication)

Masters: Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA) Ahmedabad, India, 2006 (Advertising Semiotics and Qualitative Research)

B.A.: St. Xavier's College Mumbai, India, 2004 (Psychology)

M.A: Purdue University West Lafayette, IN, 2008 (Communication)

08-15-2012 - Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

08-01-2018 - Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

2020 - Co-Director, The Cincinnati Project, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

08-15-2024 - Professor, University of Cincinnati,

08-01-2021 - Director, The Cincinnati Project,

08-15-2024 -08-15-2025 Provostal Fellow, University of Cincinnati,

Investigators:Sastry, Shaunak and Sunderland, Steve 11-01-2018 -01-31-2019 Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training Aligning community needs with patient navigation recruitment Role:Principal Investigator $5000 Active Type:Grant Level:University

Investigators:Kershmar, Caroline; Butsch-Kovacic, Melinda, Sastry Shaunak 2016 -2017 Center for Clinical & Translational Science & Training Optimization of Tailored Video Discharge Instructions for Acute Asthmatics Role:Co-investigator 10,000 Completed Type:Grant Level:University

Investigators:Sastry, Shaunak 08-2014 -08-2015 UC Office of the Provost A culture-centered investigation of international female graduate students’ health experiences at University of Cincinnati Role:PI $7500 Completed Type:Grant Level:University

Invited Presentations

Sastry, Shaunak (04-05-2013. ) Postcolonial Studies across disciplines .Cincinnati Conference on Romance Languages and Literatures, Cincinnati, OH. UC. . Level:University

Sastry, Shaunak (11-05-2014. ) Poverty, HIV, and Trucking: Notes from the field .Global Health and Poverty Roundtable, , Charles Phelps Taft Research Center, University of Cincinnati. UC. . Level:University

Sastry, Shaunak (12-01-2014. ) Ebola and the cultural politics of the "other". Ebola and the Campus Community: Lunch and Learn Series, Cincinnati State University, Cincinnati. Other Institution. . Level:Local

Sastry, Shaunak (10-02-2014. ) Between contamination and contraception: The discursive construction of HIV/AIDS among Indian truckers. Kunz Center for Social Research, University of Cincinnati. Workshop. . Level:University

Sastry, Shaunak (11-05-2014. ) Critical-cultural perspectives to the U.S coverage of Ebola .Roundtable on the politics of Ebola: Perspectives from Arts and Sciences,, University of Cincinnati. UC. . Level:University

Colloquium

Sastry, Shaunak (10-17-2013). AIDS and the Structural Context of Suffering: Communication Campaigns and Long-Distance Truck Drivers .Arts & Sciences Hall, University of Cincinnati. UC. Level:Department

Paper Presentations

Ban, Z., Dillard, S.Jones, C., Kumar, R. & Sastry, S. (11-15-2012. ) Community, Culture, and Power: Culture-centered approaches to communication and social change .Orlando, FL. Conference. Level:National

Sastry, Shaunak (11-21-2013. ) Narratives of Health as “Place”: Long-distance truckers’ meanings of health in the context of HIV/AIDS. Washington, D.C. . Conference. Level:National

Sastry Shaunak (11-20-2014. ) Between contamination and contraception: The discursive construction of HIV/AIDS among Indian truckers. Chicago, IL. Conference. Level:National

Sastry, Shaunak, Lovari, Alessandro (05-24-2015. ) The networked narratives of Ebola: Communicating the meaning of epidemics on social media .San Juan, PR. Conference. Level:International

Sastry, Shaunak (05-27-2014. ) Migration and the structural context of health: Implications for global health communication campaigns for subaltern publics. , . University of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy. Conference. Level:International

Sastry, Shaunak (05-25-2015. ) The colonial genealogies of Ebola Zaire: Miasma, tropical medicine and emerging infections. San Juan, PR. Conference. Level:International

Sastry, Shaunak, Basu, Ambar (03-29-2015. ) Provincializing global health discourses: A culture-centered analytical method. Philadelphia, PA. Conference. Level:International

Sastry, Shaunak, Arduser, Lora (11-19-2014. ) A critical analysis of risk discourses around gestational diabetes mellitus. Chicago, IL. Conference. Level:National

Ban Zhuo, Sastry, Shaunak (05-24-2015. ) Delineating Responsibility, Decisions and Compromises: A Frame Analysis of QSR’s Online Communication about Nutrition .San Juan, PR. Conference. Level:International

Dutta, M.J., Sastry, S., Dillard, S.J, Kumar, R., Anaele, A., Collins, W., & Roberson, C. (11-2015. ) Narratives of stress health meanings of African-americans in Lake county, Indiana. San Juan, PR. Conference. Level:International

Sastry, S. (11-2015. ) Questioning the common sense of condom use: A Gramscian analysis of truck drivers’ discourses around condom use for HIV/AIDS. Las Vegas, NV. Conference. Level:National

Dillon, Patrick; Basu, Ambar and Sastry, Shaunak (04-2016. ) “HIV drugs like my birth control pill”: Lived narratives of Black and Latino MSM in an urban American context. .Lexington, KY. Conference. Level:National

Health Communication Reviewer Type:Editorial Service Level:International 2009 -To Present

Culture, Health and Sexuality Reviewer Type:Editorial Service Level:International 2012 -To Present

Health Promotion International Reviewer Type:Editorial Service Level:International 2013 -To Present

National Communication Association (Health Communication Division ) Reviewer Type:Service to Professional Associations Level:National 2010 -To Present

International Communication Association (Health Communication Division ) Reviewer Type:Service to Professional Associations Level:International 2011 -2012

Health Communication Associate Editor Type:Editorial Service Level:International 04-2014 -To Present

Judge Type:University/College Service Level:University 02-2014

(Research Working Group ) Member Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 2012 -To Present

A&S Faculty Senate Member Type:University/College Service Level:College 2014 -2016

University of Cincinnati (Yates Scholar Selection Committee ) Committee Member Type:University/College Service Level:University 03-2014 -03-2014

Asian Journal of Communication Type:Editorial Service Level:International 2015 -To Present

Communication Monographs Type:Editorial Service Level:International 2015 -To Present

Frontiers in Health Communication Associate Editor Type:Editorial Service Level:International 2016

A&S Senate (Faculty Affairs Committee ) Committee Member Type:University/College Service Level:College 2015

Department of Communication (Faculty Search Committee ) Committee Member Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 2015 -2016

University of Cincinnati Graduate School (Yates Scholarship Selection Committee ) Committee Member Type:University/College Service Level:University

National Communication Association Health Communication Division (Outstanding Scholar in Health Communication Award Committee ) Committee Member Type:Service to Professional Associations Level:National 2015 -2015

2008 -To Present: Member National Communication Association,

2009 -To Present: Member International Communication Association,

Communicating Health, Science and the Environment Level:Undergraduate

Rhetoric and Society Level:Undergraduate

Seminar in Health Communication: Culture, Meaning and Power Level:Graduate

Rhetoric and Society Level:Undergraduate

-COMM-8069 HLTH COMM: CULTURE Level:Graduate

Contemporary Issues in Communication Level:Undergraduate

Communicating Health, Science and the Environment Level:Undergraduate

-COMM-8069 HLTH COMM: CULTURE Level:Graduate

Contemporary Issues in Communication Level:Undergraduate

Advanced Communication Theory Level:Graduate

-COMM-2004 COMM HEALTH/ENV/SCI Level:Undergraduate

-COMM-2004 COMM HEALTH/ENV/SCI

Capstone in Contemporary Issues Level:Undergraduate

2012 -To Present New Faculty Institute Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning University of Cincinnati Type:Other

10-11-2012 -10-11-2012 Research & Publication on the Tenure Track New Faculty Institute University of Cincinnati Type:Workshop

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