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 Research Assistant Professor with the West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine, Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, and a researcher with the WVU Cancer Institute. Her work leverages communication science and health behavior theories, models, and frameworks to develop targeted interventions designed to improve health outcomes in Appalachia and beyond.

Dr. Boatman’s research primarily focuses on improving healthcare communication and understanding health information spread on social media. Prior to earning her graduate degrees, Dr. Boatman worked as a practice facilitator in rural Appalachian primary care, partnering with clinics to adapt and implement evidence-based quality improvement strategies to increase their cancer screening rates. This practical experience was essential to her understanding of the unique health challenges many rural communities face and fueled her desire to pursue graduate studies in order to give back to the state she loves.

Since completing her education, Dr. Boatman has served as the evaluator or other key personnel on large federal grants and led her own funded studies focused on cancer communication research. Her work takes place within the Communicating for Health in Appalachia by Translating Science (CHATS) Lab at the WVU Cancer Institute. The CHATS Lab seeks to find the best ways to communicate science with different audiences to improve health.

Dr. Boatman was selected as a 2023 Putnam Scholar with the Academy of Communication in Healthcare and a 2024 Research Scholar with the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute. She serves as a member of the Stigma and Nihilism Task Group with the American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable and is on the editorial board of the health communication journal, PEC Innovation.

CHATS Lab

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.