Biography

Elaine Hsieh (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004; J.D., University of Oklahoma, 2019) is Professor and Chair in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Minnesota. She was named Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor at the University of Oklahoma in 2022. An award-winning author, Fulbright Scholar, and NIH-funded researcher, her scholarship focuses on the intersections of culture, language, health, and medicine in interpersonal and cross-cultural contexts.

Dr. Hsieh has been actively involved in advancing scholarship in health communication and related fields. She served as Associate Editor (Health Care Communication and Relations) for the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health from 2010 to 2017 and currently serves on the editorial and advisory boards of Health Communication, Interpreting, and Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, among others. Her work has appeared in journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Patient Education and Counseling, Health Communication, and Qualitative Health Research. Papers presenting her model of bilingual health communication have received several national and international top paper awards. She is the author of Bilingual Health Communication: Working with Interpreters in Cross-Cultural Care (Routledge, 2016) and Rethinking Culture in Health Communication: Social Interactions as Intercultural Encounters (Wiley, 2021), and Intercultural Health Communication: Cultural Lenses and Shared Horizons as a Theoretical Framework (Cambridge University Press, anticipated 2026) . She is regularly invited to present her work at major national and international conferences and serves as a reviewer for grants and funded research for government agencies and research institutions in the United States and around the world.

Areas of Interest

My research focuses on interpersonal communication in health contexts, with an emphasis on cross-cultural care. For over two decades, I have examined bilingual and cross-cultural health communication, particularly the role of medical interpreters and the experiences of non-English speaking and minority patients. 

Across my scholarly and administrative work, I am interested in how institutional values, normative practices, and desired outcomes are aligned to support sustainable excellence. This perspective informs my work in building resources and systems that enhance organizational flexibility, community resilience, and cultural diversity.

Intepreter-Mediated Interactions and Healthcare Delivery

• Discrepancies between the beliefs and practices of health interpreters and healthcare providers

• Interpreters’ influence on the quality of health services and clinical interactions

• Interpreter-mediated interactions as multi-party coordinations of identities, relationships, and communicative goals in healthcare settings

 

Culture and Health Behavior

• Cultural variations in social support and health literacy among non-English speaking and minority patients

• Influence of culturally situated systems on individuals' understanding of health behaviors and health communication

• Development of cultural consciousness frameworks that account for social processes and temporal aspects of illness management

 

Health, Law, and Emerging Technologies

• Discrepancies between legal standards and established practices for quality of care

• Reconceptualizing privacy, autonomy, and health management in the context of genomic medicine and emerging technologies

• Institutional and policy responses (e.g., informed consent, biobank management, use of genetic materials) to shifting understandings of autonomy, privacy, and property

Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004

Dissertation: Bilingual Health Communication and Medical Interpreters: Managing Role Performances and Communicative Goals
Advisor: Dale E. Brashers
Dept. of Speech Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004.

J.D., University of Oklahoma, 2019

Focus: Health law and bioethics.

M.A., Monterey Institute of International Studies, 1999

Major: English-Chinese Translation and Interpretation (T & I)

B.A.s, National Central University, Taiwan, 1997

Double Majors: Chinese Literature/ English Literature

Certificates

Fulbright Storytelling Program, The Poynter Institute, USA, 2015.
International Environmental Policy, Monterey Institute of International Studies, CA, 1999.

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma--Health Science Center

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Monterey Institute of International Studies

• Currently known as "Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey"
• Instructor, Custom Language Services:
  • Basic Translation & Interpretation Theories and Practices
  • Chinese Language in Contexts

University of Minnesota

• Department of Communication Studies
• Chair, 2022-present

University of Oklahoma

National Communication Association

• Association-Wide
• Member, Nominating Committee, 2016-2017
• Member, Legislative Assembly
• Health Communication Division
  • Immediate Past Chair, 2016-2017; Chair, 2015-2016; Vice Chair, 2014-2015; Vice Chair-Elect, 2013-2014; Secretary, 2006-2008

Summer, 2013-2014

Course Director (Healthcare Interpreting; Chinese/English), Glendon School of Translation, York University, Toronto, Canada. *Online MA Program

Summer, 2012

Curriculum Developer (Healthcare Interpreting; Chinese/English), Glendon School of Translation, York University, Toronto, Canada. *Online MA Program

Spring, 2010

Invited Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation Studies, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Winter, 2010

Invited Visiting Scholar. Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Editorial Board (active)

Member, Health Communication Series, Johns Hopkins University Press [book series] (2020-present)
Member, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research (2011-present)
Member, Health Communication (2010-present)
Member, Southern Communication Journal (2017-present)