Executive Committee

DIVISION HEAD

Dr. Linwan Wu (Ph.D., University of Florida) an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean for Research at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, College of information and Communications, University of South Carolina. His research focuses on advertising psychology and communication technology. In general, his research attempts to understand the psychological influences of advertising messages on consumers — as well as consumers’ psychological responses to digital media and online information. Recently, his research has been dedicated to investigating consumer reactions to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in advertising and strategic communication. He is currently an Associate Editor of Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising.

E-mail address: linwanwu@mailbox.sc.edu

DIVISION VICE-HEAD

Dr. Eunjin (Anna) Kim is an assistant professor at USC Annenberg. She is primarily interested in the persuasive power of storytelling in advertising. Other research interests include branding and message strategy, persuasion knowledge and digital media effects. Her work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, International Journal of Advertising, Psychology and Marketing, Marketing Letters, Health Communication, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Social Media + Society, American Behavioral Scientist, Mobile Media + Communication among others. She has been recognized several times for her quality research from the Journal of Advertising, the American Academy of Advertising, the American Marketing Association and D.C. Health Communication Conference.She serves on the editorial review board of the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, International Journal of Advertising (Associate Editor) and the Journal of Interactive Advertising. She is a member of the American Academy of Advertising, the International Communication Association, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the Association for Consumer Research.

E-mail address: eunjink@usc.edu

RESEARCH CHAIR 

Dr. Chen Lou is an Associate Professor in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research focuses on the effects of social media advertising and consumer behavior. She has examined the effects and mechanisms of a variety of social media advertising, including influencer advertising, content marketing, and cross-cultural advertising, as well as studying what roles social and psychological factors play in the persuasion process.In 2021, she received the American Academy of Advertising’s (AAA) Mary Alice Shaver Promising Professor Award, which honors a junior faculty member who has demonstrated excellence and innovation in advertising research and teaching. She also gained four Best Article Awards (i.e., Journal of Advertising, Journal of Interactive Advertising, Mass Communication and Society) in various journals as well as many other research awards in conferences. She serves as an Associate Editor in the International Journal of Advertising and the Journal of Interactive Advertising.

E-mail address: chenlou@ntu.edu.sg

SPECIAL TOPICS CHAIR

Dr. Anastasia Kononova is an associate professor in the Department of Advertising & Public Relations at Michigan State University. Kononova does research in advertising and media psychology with the focus on ICT use disparities, ad-context processing, and consumer buying of counterfeit goods. She teaches Ph.D. theory courses,  as well as digital analytics, media planning for creatives, and DEI in PR and advertising to master’s and undergraduate students. Kononova is a graduate director in the department. She’s worked with and mentored dozens of graduate and undergraduate students. 

E-mail address: kononova@msu.edu

GRADUATE STUDENT CHAIR

Dr. Chang-Dae Ham (Ph.D. University of Missouri) is Professor, Charles H. Sandage Scholar in Advertising Research, and Associate Head of Graduate Studies in the Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on how consumers cope with diverse persuasion tactics, through the lens of consumers' marketplace metacognition, persuasion knowledge, and media literacy. He serves as Associate Editor for the international Journal of Advertising and the Asian Journal of Communication, and as an editorial board member for advertising journals (JA, IJA, JAR, JCIRA, JIA). He also serves as a guest editor for special issues on the Role of AI agents (JIA) and Political Advertising (IJA). Additionally, he is Vice President of the American Academy of Advertising (AAA), having previously chaired the Research Committee. In the AEJMC Advertising Division, he is serving as the Graduate Student Chair, following his tenure as the chair of Special Topics, Professional Freedom & Responsibility, and Pre-conference.

E-mail address: cdham317@illinois.edu

TEACHING AND PEDAGOGY CHAIR

Dr. Juliana Fernandes (Ph.D. University of Florida, 2010) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Dr. Fernandes is an expert in the uses and effects of negative information in persuasive communication messages and how social and traditional media are used as strategic tools during political campaigns. She has published academic articles in top advertising and mass communication journals (Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, Journal of Promotion Management, Mass Communication & Society, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journalism, Journalism Practice, American Behavioral Scientist, Communication Studies, Environmental Communication, among others) and has several book chapters in edited collections. She has mentored several undergraduate and graduate students on a variety of research and professional projects. Her teaching philosophy centers on the link between conceptual foundation, research, and practice in advertising. She believes that good advertising practice cannot be achieved without a strong conceptual foundation and research expertise. In 2023, she received the AEJMC Advertising Division Teaching Excellence Award. To learn more about Dr. Fernandes, please visit her website: www.julianafernandes.com.

E-mail address: juliana@jou.ufl.edu 

PROFRESSIONAL FREEDOM & RESPONSIBILITY (PR&R) CHAIR 

Dr. Samuel M.Tham is an assistant professor of strategic communication and advertising in the department of Journalism and Media Communication at Colorado State University. As a media psychologist, Tham’s research interests lies in the domain of digital advertising, ad avoidance, and problematic media use especially in video gaming. He is interested in understanding processes of media engagement, and developing ethical advertising messaging for vulnerable populations that are susceptible to problematic media use. His published research looks at the intersection of digital advertising, problematic media use, and mental and social health. Prior to academia, Tham worked in the advertising and public relations industry for over a decade, first as a founder of his online gaming company, then as an advertising account executive, and later in corporate communications. His return to academia after a successful industry career was driven towards mentoring students and developing their research toward careers in academia and industry. He is currently the associate editor for the Journal of Communication Technology.

E-mail address: samuel.tham@colostate.edu

COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR & SECRETARY

Dr. Mengtian (Montina) Jiang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Strategic Communication at the University of Kentucky. Her research examines how influencers, celebrities, businesses, and non-profits use branded content for persuasion, focusing on the intersection of advertising effectiveness, emerging technologies, and social responsibility. Her research topics include live-streaming commerce, virtual vs. human influencer marketing, native advertising and disclosure, cause-related marketing, brand activism, celebrity endorsement, and more. Her work has been published in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Interactive Advertising, Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, among others, and presented at numerous national and international conferences. She is an active member of the American Academy of Advertising (AAA), the European Academy of Advertising (EAA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).

E-mail address: mengtian.jiang@uky.edu

GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

Wenwen Cao is a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.  Her research focuses on advertising, particularly in influencer marketing, gender, emotion and computational communication. Wenwen's master’s thesis explored how femvertising influences consumer purchase intentions, brand attitudes, and gender consciousness in China. She has presented her research at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), where she won Third Place in the Student Research Competition in the advertising division.

E-mail address: cao00428@umn.edu