Dannell D. Boatman, EdD, MS

Assistant Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Cancer Prevention and Control

Classification:

Faculty

• MS, Kansas State University, 2016
• EdD, AT Still University of Health Sciences, 2020
• MS, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2023

Dannell Boatman, EdD, MS is a health communication researcher with the West Virginia University Cancer Institute (WVUCI), Cancer Prevention & Control, where she focuses on cancer communication.

Dr. Boatman has worked in public health since 2015, primarily within the field of cancer prevention and control. In addition to her communication-focused research, she has experience in programmatic evaluation, implementation and dissemination of evidence-based practices, and practice facilitation in primary care. Along with playing key roles in federally funded programmatic grants, Dr. Boatman has secured independent funding to advance her cancer communication research.

In 2022, Dr. Boatman launched the Communicating for Health in Appalachia by Translating Science (CHATS) Lab at the WVUCI with the mission to improve health outcomes in West Virginia and beyond through original research and by fostering the adoption of research in practice by using dissemination and communication science frameworks.

Dr. Boatman’s goal is to leverage the power of communication to improve cancer health outcomes in Appalachia and beyond. Her cancer communication research interests include healthcare communication, digital health technologies, social media, and Appalachian culture. She uses a mixed methods research approach and grounds her work in behavior change, communication, and knowledge translation theories and frameworks. Dr. Boatman’s lab, the CHATS Lab, is spurred by this original research and a focus on dissemination and communication science approaches to ensure these findings and those from other researchers are integrated into practice.