Elisia L. Cohen earned her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Southern California, and is Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky where she holds the Gifford Blyton Endowed Professorship. She is a Member of the Markey Cancer Center and is the Director of the College of Communication and Information's Health Communication Research Collaborative. At the University of Kentucky, she was awarded the Sarah Bennett Holmes award for her leadership, research, and service. Her research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and private industry. Her research on public understanding of disease has appeared in such journals as: Health Communication, Health Education and Behavior, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journal of Communication in Healthcare, Journal of Health Communication, Qualitative Health Research, and Prometheus. She is married and has one daughter, Addison Lydia.