Yonaira Rivera

Yonaira “Yoni” M. Rivera’s scholarship focuses on reducing health inequities and improving the well-being of Latino/a/x and underserved communities through health communication initiatives. She specifically focuses on understanding how engagement with health information on social media may impact health decisions, ensures access to multilingual and culturally-relevant health information, and facilitates community engagement through digital spaces. 

Rivera has received funding from the National Cancer Institute, including an F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award and a Loan Repayment Program Award in health disparities research. She was a 2024 Douglass College Faculty Equity Fellow and received the 2025 Department of Communication Excellence in Teaching Award. She has published her work in leading communication and public health journals, including the Journal of Communication, Health Communication, and JMIR.

Rivera’s current projects include developing community-led, culturally relevant, multilingual health communication interventions for Latino/a/x audiences, and exploring the role social media platforms play in facilitating health communication efforts among community leaders in Puerto Rico. She also studies how LLMs can communicate health information in accessible, reliable, and culturally sensitive ways. Rivera is an associate member of the Cancer Prevention & Control Program and member of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at the Rutgers Cancer Institute. She is also a core faculty member of the Rutgers Global Health Institute and affiliated faculty for the Rutgers Center for Latin American Studies.

Ph.D., Social and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
M.P.H., Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University
B.S., Biotechnology, Rutgers University

Associate Member, Cancer Prevention and Control Program
Member, Cancer Health Equity Center of Excellence 
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey 
Core Faculty Member, Rutgers Global Health Institute
Affiliated Faculty, Rutgers Center for Latin American Studies
CommUnity Health Action Lab 
Digital Ethnography Working Group
Health and Wellness Cluster
Social Media and Society Cluster