Xuan Qian

she/her

Graduate Student, Department of Communication

About

My research focuses on risk communication and information seeking in health, science, and AI-mediated contexts. I study how people perceive risk, evaluate information sources, and make decisions about seeking and using information. I am especially interested in how trust, uncertainty, emotions, and motivation shape people’s responses to risk-related information.

Education

M.A. Communication, Northern Illinois University

Interests

Risk communication, information seeking, media psychology

Contact Information

xq84 [at] cornell.edu

Publications

Qian, X. (2026). Across borders through screens: Health information-seeking practices of Chinese abroad on Rednote. Global Perspective in Communication, 1(1), wpaf001. https://doi.org/10.1093/gpcomm/wpaf001
Qian, X., & Yuan, S. (2024). AI-powered mental health communication: Examining the effects of affection expectations on health behavioral intentions. Patient Education and Counseling, 108142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108142

Xuan in the news

Graduate student Julia Sebastien (left) is pictured with Cornell Professor JoAnn Difede and Cornell Associate Professor Malte Jung at the “Human Psychology, Purpose and Social Life in the Age of AI and Ubiquitous Computing.”

News

May 6, 2026

COMM Updates - 5/6/2026

May 6, 2026 Check out our final COMM Updates for the 2025–2026 academic year—and what a year it’s been! We’ll be back at the beginning of the fall 2026 semester. Awards Graduate student Margaret (Maggie) Foster received the Christine Ye...

COMM UPDATES from the Department of Communication

News

March 18, 2026

COMM Updates - 3/18/2026

March 18, 2026 Events REMINDER: Join us for COMMColloquium Monday, March 23, 2026, 3:00 pm, in 102 Mann Library Building. Graduate student Bya Rodrigues will present “ Resisting Networked Misogyny: Platformized Activism, Care Infrastructures and...