Jennifer McWhirter

Associate Professor

Hons. B.Sc., Ph.D. (University of Waterloo)

j.mcwhirter@uoguelph.ca
Pop Med Bldg. 209

https://healthbydesignlab.com/
Jennifer McWhirter on LinkedIn
Jennifer McWhirter on ResearchGate

Profile

Jennifer McWhirter is an Associate Professor of Public Health Promotion and Communication in the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Research Interests

Dr. McWhirter's research focuses on the design and assessment of information and places and the policies that shape them in order to promote health and prevent disease. Her research has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and more. She and her work have been acknowledged in awards from the American Association for Cancer Education, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Sheela Basrur Centre, and Health Promotion Canada (Rising Star Award). She holds a Certificate in Landscape Design from the University of Guelph and a PhD from the University of Waterloo.

Research Areas

Health and risk communication including visual health communication and health misinformation
AI and public health, including the implications of large language models for health mis/disinformation
Public health competencies, particularly those related to communication and information equity
Shade design and policy for heat mitigation and UV protection, landscape design, and public health