Profile picture for Minhey Chung

Contact Information

3001 Lincoln Hall, MC-456
702 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL, 61801

Office Hours

Fall 2025: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-1:30pm (Lincoln Hall 4070-4071)
PhD Candidate

Research Interests

Health communication, Persuasion, New media, Body image

Research Description

Minhey's research centers on persuasion and new media, with an emphasis on health topics. She is interested in message resistance and overcoming barriers to persuasion, and the unintended effects of message processing on health and persuasion outcomes. She further examines how characteristics of new media (e.g., algorithmic content curation) and individual differences (e.g., media literacy, body dissatisfaction) affect persuasive health communication.

Education

MA in Media & Communication, Korea University

BA in International Studies and Media & Communication, Korea University

Awards and Honors

Department of Communication Distinguished Fellowship, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

List of Teachers Ranked as “Excellent” by Their Students, *Fall 2022, *Spring 2023, *Fall 2023, *Spring 2024, *Fall 2024, *Spring 2025, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (* denotes an additional distinction as "outstanding")

Ruth Anne Clark Fund Research Award, Dissertation research, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Brant R. Burleson Fund Research Award, Dissertation research, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Magna Cum Laude, Korea University

Courses Taught

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • CMN 102 Introduction to Communication
  • CMN 260 Introduction to Health Communication (Instructor of Record)
  • CMN 595 Mass Media and Health

Korea University

  • JMC 619 Persuasive Communication
  • JMCO 344 Persuasive Communication
  • JMC 576 Strategic Communication
  • JMCO 366 Marketing Communication

Recent Publications

Bigsby, E., & Chung, M. (2025). Exemplification theory. In J. Volkman (Ed.), A Multi-Perspective Approach to Narratives in Health Communication. Bloomsbury.

Quick, B. L., Caban, S., Chung, M., & Yan, J. (2025). Introducing health communication science to mental health researchers: An examination of information seeking, processing, and dissemination frameworks. In Yzer, M. & Siegel, J. (Eds.), The Handbook of Mental Health Communication. Wiley.

Quick, B. L., Chung, M., Morrow, E. & Reynolds-Tylus, T. (2024). Can happiness and sadness overcome organ donation barriers following exposure to radio ads? Journal of Health Communication. 29(3), 200-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2024.2313988

Quick, B. L., Morrow, E., Wilson, S., Chung, M., Hartman, D., & Koester, B. (2024). Psilocybin legalization in the U.S. and psychological reactance: A test of evidence uncertainty, controlling language, and an ambiguous call to action. Motivation Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000361