Itzhak Yanovitzky

Itzhak Yanovitzky is an expert in the areas of behavior change communication, public policymaking, translational research, and program evaluation. His mixed-methods program of research explores effective mechanisms for facilitating the use of evidence in policy and practice and building the capacity of systems and communities to apply communication strategies and tools to promote population health. Yanovitzky has extensive experience partnering with collaborators across academic disciplines and sectors to address a range of public health problems, including most recent efforts to address the opioid epidemic and the rising toll of youth depression and suicide.

Yanovitzky’s groundbreaking work on knowledge-brokering by intermediaries (journalists, advocates, community leaders, etc.) and via information technologies (e.g., dashboards) as a means for facilitating evidence-informed policies and practices at all levels (individual, community, and system) has been continuously supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, William T. Grant Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and others. He is past member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s standing committee on Advancing Science Communication, past chair of the international Communication Association's Health Communication Division, and a recipient of the 2022 Rutgers University’s Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award.

His current projects center on the notion of actionable knowledge (timely, relevant, and credible information that enables individuals or organizations to take specific, effective actions to achieve desired outcomes) and developing a framework for guiding the co-design and implementation of actionable data dashboards and similar tools (including AI) that are equally responsive and adaptable to the needs and abilities of different users.

Ph.D., Communication, University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication
M.A., Sociology, University of Haifa
B.A., Sociology and Political Science, University of Haifa

Chair, SC&I Health and Wellness Cluster
Rutgers School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy
Core Faculty Member, Rutgers Global Health Institute
Center for Communication and Health Issues (CHI)
Active Surveillance of Policy Ecosystems and Networks (ASPEN)
Public Health Data Dashboard Design (PH3D)