Susan Mello

Susan Mello is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Northeastern University. She is also an affiliate faculty member of Northeastern’s Social Science and Environmental Health Research Institute (SSEHRI) and a founding member of CAMD’s Health + Wellness Design Lab.

Broadly, her research interests lie at the intersection of risk perception, health communication, and the environment. Her recent work explores how exposure to risk information in the media, specifically about environmental toxins, COVID-19, and cancer, impacts individual perceptions and protective health behaviors. Her research has been published in Journal of Health Communication, Risk Analysis, and Nicotine & Tobacco Research, among other journals, and she has peer-reviewed research proposals for Cancer Research UK and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Before joining the faculty at Northeastern, Dr. Mello served on the faculty at The Ohio State University’s School of Communication. She earned her doctoral and master’s degrees from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also taught undergraduate courses and worked as a research assistant in a National Cancer Institute-funded Center of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research.

Dr. Mello was a 2007-2008 U.S. Fulbright Fellow to Quebec City, Canada, and also worked in public relations for Discovery Communications, Inc. the parent company of the Discovery Channel, Discovery Health, and Planet Green. She graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a BA in Communication.

At Northeastern University, she teaches classes on communication theory, health communication campaigns, risk communication, and regularly guest lectures for the Bouvé College of Health Science Honors Program. She has been selected as a recipient of CAMD’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2019) and High Impact Teaching Award (2024). She has also served as chair of the department’s Curriculum Committee and the college’s Academic Affairs Committee.