At the University of Utah, Jakob D. Jensen is the Associate Vice President for Research, a Professor in the Department of Communication, and a member of the Cancer Control & Population Sciences Core in the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He is a recipient of the prestigious NIH New Innovator Award (2015 – 2020) and a Presidential Scholar (2014 – 2017). His research has garnered several major awards including Best Article in Risk Analysis (2017), AEJMC’s Krieghbaum Under-40 Award (2017), NCA’s Golden Anniversary Monograph Award (twice: 2015 & 2016), ICA’s Young Scholar Award (2013), AEJMC’s CommSHER Article of the Year (2012), and NCA’s Distinguished Article in Health Communication (2008). Professor Jensen’s research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, Public Understanding of Science, Social Science & Medicine, Cancer Epidemiology, & Risk Analysis (among others).

Professor Jensen is an expert in health communication. His research focuses on the strategic communication of health information to the public, with a special focus on cancer. He routinely works with public health departments to design and evaluate their campaigns, interventions, and programs. Most recently, he has worked with the Utah Department of Health on the design and evaluation of colorectal and breast cancer screening campaigns. In addition to his research, Professor Jensen is also a leader in the field of health communication. He is on the editorial boards for both Journal of Health Communication and Health Communication, is the former Secretary (2008 – 2010) and Chair (2011 – 2015) of NCA’s Health Communication Division, and manages both the NCA Health Communication Division webpage and Facebook page.

In addition to Health Communication, Professor Jensen is an expert in communication technology. He directs the Health Communication & Technology (HCAT) lab, and co-directs both the Immersion Lab and the Biophys Lab. From a technology standpoint, Professor Jensen develops software to facilitate dynamic communication, advances psychometrics and evaluation, and pioneers innovative visual platforms such as monochrome ultraviolet (UV) cameras, immersive images, and visual sharing networks.