Mengyan Ma Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department

Advertising + Public Relations

mamengya@msu.edu

Bio

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Dr. Mengyan Ma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, with a 4:4 teaching load. Before rejoining Michigan State University (MSU), she served as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC). Since 2015, Mengyan has taught undergraduate courses across various formats, including in-person, synchronous, and asynchronous modalities. Her previous courses include Social Media and Communication, Advertising Message Strategy, Research Methods, Writing for Integrated Strategic Communication, Media Law and Ethics, Media Planning, Digital Analytics, and Account Planning and Research.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Her research explores the intersection of health communication, influencer marketing, family communication, and emerging media. Using mixed methods, her work aims to (a) advance the development of impactful public awareness campaigns that provide health education and facilitate family communication to promote well-being, (b) inform influencer marketing regulations that emphasize transparency and prevent misleading information about cannabis-related products, and (c) highlight the need to de-stigmatize the use of AI among individuals with diverse limitations in their daily lives and communication, including but not limited to international students who face language and cultural or historical barriers.

Her work has been published in International Journal of Communication, Social Media + Society, Health Communication, Journal of Advertising Education, Journal of Family Communication, and Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Notably, her co-authored paper, “A Tale of Four Platforms: Motivations and Uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat among College Students,” has garnered over 1,700 citations. She received a Trifecta Grant (2025–2026) to support research on influencer marketing of THC-infused beverages, with the goal of informing media literacy campaigns, family education, public health initiatives, and regulatory discussions. Her paper abstract was recognized as a Top Paper Abstract at the 2025 Midwinter AEJMC Conference. She reviewed journal manuscripts include: Social Media + Society, New Media + Society, Mass Communication and Society, Journal of American College Health, Journal of Marketing Communications, and Journal of Advertising Education. She is deeply committed to community-engaged research, teaching, and service. During her doctoral program, she earned a graduate certificate in Community Engagement.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Mengyan currently serves as the International Coordinator for the publishing team at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). She has worked as the Marketing Manager for A Plus International Culture Communication Inc., where she was responsible for managing partnerships with local organizations and developing international cultural exchange programs and teacher training initiatives. Her industry experience includes roles as a writing counselor, marketing analyst, and advertising designer across various organizations. Prior to her career in the U.S., she interned as a journalist and program designer at Beijing Media Network for several years.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Mengyan earned her Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies, along with a Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement, from MSU in 2021. She also holds a master’s degree in Advertising with an Advertising Ethics Certification, which she completed at MSU in 2015. She received her bachelor's degree in Finance from Wuhan University, China, in 2013.

A dedicated researcher and educator, Mengyan is passionate about bridging the gap between academic knowledge and practical application. Visit www.mengyanma.com to learn more about her work.

Roles

International Coordinator of the Publishing Team at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Teaching Standing Committee at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Editorial Board of Global Perspectives in Communication
Thesis and Dissertation Award Committee, National Communication Association (NCA), Human Communication and Technology Division
Communication Committee, American Academy of Advertising (AAA)
Graduate Student Scholarship Subcommittee, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Advertising Division
MSU Excellence-in-Teaching Citation Committee
MSU ADPR Department Research Resources Committee
MSU ADPR Department Scholarships Committee
Program Co-Director of Education Abroad Program "International Advertising and Public Relations in China"
Enrollment Officer for the Master’s Program in Health and Risk Communication
Collaborator of Family Communication and Relationship (FCR) Lab
Affiliate Faculty of Health and Risk Communication Center (HRCC)

Research and Teaching

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Health Communication
Family Communication
Social Media and Influencer Marketing
Artificial Intelligence
Cannabis Products
Eating Behaviors
Psychological Well-being
Community-engaged Research

TEACHING COURSES

ADV205 Principles of Advertising
ADV225 Basic Skills for Advertising Careers
ADV330 Advertising Management Strategy
ADV375 Consumer Behavior
PR325 Intermediate Social Media and Public Relations Techniques

Related Work

MSU at ICA 2023

NCA 109th annual convention

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Ma, M., Ma, W, Cui, X., & Wolfe, B. H. (2026) Linking Family Communication Patterns to College Students’ Flourishing: The Mediating Role of Family Satisfaction. Journal of Family Communication.

Ma, M. & Alhabash, S. (2026) Exploring How Social Media Message Modality Succession Influences Information Overload, Effectiveness, and Intention to Follow Healthy Eating Suggestions. Journal of Communication Technology.

Dorrance Hall, E., Watson, O., Yue, Z., Kuhar, M., & Ma, M. (2025) Linking Slovene Women’s Family-of-Origin Communication with Perceptions of Resilience, Support Availability and Happiness in Adulthood. Journal of Family Communication.

Holtz, B. & Ma, M. (2025) Early Assessment on the Impact of Virtual Backgrounds on Patient Perceptions in Telemedicine. Telemedicine and e-Health.

Ma, M. (2025) Fostering Engagement and Collaboration in Synchronous Online Learning. Journal of Advertising Education.

Ma, M. (2025) Enhancing Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes through Strategic Use of Guest Speakers in Advertising Education. Journal of Advertising Education.

Wolfe, B. H., Ma, M., Kuch, R., Zhang, Y., Cui, X., Edwards, E. L., Watson, O, &Dorrance Hall, E. (2025). A mixed-methods analysis of memorable messages received by first-generation college students from parents at graduation. Journal of Family Communication.

Dorrance-Hall, E., Zhang, Y., Wolfe, B., Ma, M., Li, W., Kuch, L., Cui, X., Edwards, A.L. (2024). Different by definition: First generation college graduates’ perceptions of family marginalization, resilience, and flourishing. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Hall, E., Earle, K., Ma, M., Kuch, L., Zhang, Y., & Osika, K. (2024). Women’s Work-Family Balance in Slovenia: Associations with Job Stress, Division of Labor Satisfaction, and Relational Wellbeing. International Journal of Communication.

RECENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Bezbaruah, S., Ma, M., & Mundel, J. (2026) Influencer Marketing for Prosocial Behavior: Ethnic-Similarity, Source Characteristics, and Intentions to Accept Health Recommendations among Hispanics. The paper is accepted to present at the Society for Food Marketing and Retailing (SFMR) Conference.

Ma, M., Wolfe, B. H., Cui, X., Ma, W., & Higley, P. (2025) Talk, Remember, Eat: The Impact of Parental Messages and Communication Patterns on Healthy Eating Intentions. Paper accepted to present at the Family Communication Division of the annual meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA), Denver, CO, United States.

Ma, M., Ma, W, Cui, X., Higley, P., & Wolfe, B. H. (2025) Exploring the Impact of Family Communication Context on College Students’ Resilience, Pressure, and Flourishing.” Paper accepted to present at the Family Communication Division of the annual meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA), Denver, CO, United States.

Ma, M. & Ma, W. (2025) Connecting the Dots: How Communication Patterns, Frequency, and Channels Shape Perceived Parental Support, Relationship Satisfaction, and Academic Well-Being. Paper accepted to present at theInterpersonal Communication Division of the annual meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA),Denver, CO, United States.

Ma, M. (2025) Navigating Parental Awareness and Responses to THC-Infused Drink Marketing: A Situational Theory of Problem-Solving (STOPS) Approach. Extended abstract accepted to present at the Health Communication Division of the annual meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA), Denver, CO, United States.

Lim, S., Ma, M., Cui, X., Bente, G., & Schmaelzle, R. (2025) LLM-Based Embodied Conversational Agents for Undergraduate Advising: The Effects of Coaching Style and Immersion on Student Well-Being. Extended abstract accepted to present at the Communication Technology Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Dorrance Hall, E., Watson, O., Yue, Z., Kuhar, M., and Ma, M. (2025) Linking Slovene Women’s Family-of-Origin Communication with Perceptions of Resilience, Support Availability and Happiness in Adulthood. Paper accepted to present at the 75th Annual International Communication Association Conference.

Ma, M. & Alhabash, S. (2025) Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Succession and Media Richness Theories to Promote Healthy Eating Behaviors on Social Media. Extended abstract presented to the Communication Technology Division of 2025 Regional Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference.

Wolfe, B. H., Ma, M., Kuch, R., Zhang, Y., Cui, X., Edwards, E. L., Dorrance Hall, E. (2024) A mixed-methods analysis of memorable messages received by first-generation college students from family members at graduation. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division of the annual meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA), New Orleans, LA, United States.

Dorrance-Hall, E., Zhang, Y., Wolfe, B., Li, W., Kuch, L., Ma, M., Cui, X., Edwards, A.L. (2024). Different by definition: First generation college graduates’ perceptions of family marginalization, resilience, and flourishing. Paper presented to the Family Communication Division of the annual meeting of the National Communication Association (NCA), New Orleans, LA, United States.

Edwards, A., Hall, E., Wolfe, B., Kuch, L., Ma, M., Zhang, Y., & Xiao, C. (2024) “My mother was far more involved”: A mixed-methods examination of parental communication about career choices. Abstract presented to the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR), Boston, MA, United States.

Wang, T., Hall, E., Spates, S., Ma, M., Wolfe, B., Edwards, A., & Zhang, Y. (2024). Navigating Incoherent Systems: Dyadic, Family, and Community Communication Opportunities and Challenges of First-Generation College Students During and Beyond Higher Education. Paper presented to the Central States Communication Association Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, United States.

Contact Information

404 Wilson Rd., Room 362
Communication Arts and Sciences Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824

Personal Website

LinkedIn Account