Research Areas
Research Interests
Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Health Communication, and Dilemmatic or Challenging Identity Transitions and Communication
Research Description
Emily is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is interested in applying theories of identity and resilience to better understand how disenfranchised and marginalized families and family members navigate difficult conversations and transitions, often in health contexts. Additionally, she investigates who benefits or what is benefitted from family communication by interrogating how "disruptions" to "traditional" family life courses are socially stigmatized or criticized as nonnormative or deviant. Through her research, Emily hopes to continue work that highlights voices of families and family members who are often socially erased or ignored.
Education
MA, Communication, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (May 2022)
BA, Communication and English Literature, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (May 2020)
Awards and Honors
Illinois Distinguished Fellowship in the Humanities and Arts, University of Illinois Graduate College
President’s Research in Diversity Travel Award, University of Illinois System President’s Office (Spring 2023)
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois, Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
Courses Taught
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Instructor of Record
- Communication 210: Public Communication in Everyday Life
- Communication 101: Public Speaking
Faculty Extender
- Communication 595: Stigma in Healthcare
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Instructor of Record
- Communication 105: Business and Professional Communication
Additional Campus Affiliations
Assessing Safer Attorney Practices (ASAP) Volunteer Research Affiliate, MAKE IT Lab, Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Highlighted Publications
Caughlin, J., & Gerlikovski, E. R. (2023). Conflict in family communication. In Matthew Powers (Ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.1465
Cooke-Jackson, A., Rubinsky, V., Gunning, J., Gerlikovski. E., Holman. A., Manning, J., Nieto, B., Noland, C., Spieldenner, A., De Los Santos Upton, S., & Zelaya, C. (2023). Elaborating on ‘the talk’ in ‘sex talks’: An interdisciplinary exploration of the place of Communication Science in sexuality education and advocacy. American Journal of Sexuality Education. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2023.2256654
Sparrow, D. M., Sahlstein Parcell, E., Gerlikovski, E. & Simpson, D. N. (2023). Microaggressions toward people with disabilities. In M. S. Jeffress (Ed.), Palgrave handbook of disability and communication. Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14447-9_5
Thompson, C. M., Babu, S., Gerlikovski, E., McGuire, M., Makos, S., Ranallo, A., & Robieson, I. (2023). Living with long COVID: A longitudinal interview study of individuals’ communicative resilience over the “long haul.” Health Communication. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2257941