Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Ugwu, H., Willis, E., & Pickett, M. (2026). Electronic word-of-mouth and off-label use of Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications. Journal of Health Psychology.
Willis, E., Friedel, K., Heisten, M., Pickett, M., & Bhowmick, A. (2023). Communicating health literacy on prescription medications on social media: In-depth interviews with “patient influencers.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25(1), e41867.
Refereed Conference Presentations
Pickett, M., Ugwu, H., & Willis, E. (2024, August). “I’m just here for the comments”: Instagram, diabetes influencers, and prescription medication. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference. [Poster Session.]
Willis, E., Pickett, M., & Walker, T. (2024, March). Applying Taylor’s Six-Segment Message Strategy Wheel to patient influencers’ medication content on Instagram. American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference. [Research Paper Session.]
Willis, E., Friedel, K., Heisten, M., & Pickett, M. (2022, August). Communicating health literacy about pharmaceutical medication on social media: “It works for me, but may not for you.” Annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Communicating Science, Health, Risk and the Environment Division. [Research Paper Session; Awarded Third Place Faculty Paper.]
Research Interests
- Social media influencers
- Online communities
- Advertising
- Individual online identity and self-presentation on social network sites
- Brand identity and presentation on social network sites
- Social media as transmedia storytelling
Teaching Areas
- Strategic communication
- Advertising and public relations
- Crisis communication
- Digital storytelling
- Brands and culture
- Computer-mediated communication
- Social media strategies
- Strategic brand management
Melissa Pickett 