Dr. Heather Canary

headshot of Heather Canary

Pronouns: She/Her
Professor
School of Communication
College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts

SDSU

Email

Primary Email: [email protected]

Building/Location

Communication - 241
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-4560

Files

Bio

Dr. Canary, Professor in the School of Communication, earned her PhD at Arizona State University. Before coming to SDSU, Dr. Canary served on the faculties of Arizona State University and the University of Utah.

Her research interests include organizational, family, and health communication. Dr. Canary’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense. Her recent funded projects include comparing cancer genetics communication across clinical sessions and family conversations, as well as developing and implementing a series of workshops to enhance team communication on a U.S. Marine Corps base.

Other recent studies of cross-system communication have explored discharge and hand-off communication at a pediatric hospital, analyzed the role of communication in cross-system policy implementation, and examined community reintegration for individuals with traumatic brain injuries.

Dr. Canary’s teaching interests include leadership and organizational communication, family communication, communication theory, and health communication.

In her free time, Dr. Canary enjoys walking her dogs, being a backyard farmer at her home in Mt. Helix, and sailing along the San Diego coastline with family and friends.

Education

  • PhD, Arizona State University
  • MA, California State University, Fullerton
  • BA, Seattle Pacific University

Areas of Specialization

organizational, family, and health communication

Awards & Honors

  • 2026 Most Influential Faculty Member, College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts Most Outstanding Graduating Senior and Health Communication Most Outstanding Graduating Senior
  • 2023 Top Four Paper, Language and Social Interaction Interaction Interest Group, Western States Communication Association
  • 2019 Top Four Paper, Organizational Communication Division, International Communication Association
  • 2019 Outstanding Reviewer, Communication Reports, Western States Communication Association
  • 2018 Top Four Paper, Health Communication Interest Group, Western States Communication Association
  • 2017 Top Four Paper, Organizational Communication Division, National Communication Association

Courses

COMM 300, 490, 496, 499

Directed Student Research

MA theses directed (SDSU): 

  • Constructing Diversity: How Training Discourse Shapes Difference in Organizations (Emily Beach) 
  • Tension Analysis: The Smart Room Project at a Large Public University (Molly Flores)
  • Pushed and Pulled: Understanding Contradictions in IEPs during a Pandemic (Stephany Rojas Hidalgo)
  • Park Ranger Communication of Conservation Knowledge: Shaping Environmental Selves (Kayla Gerdes)
  • Toward an Understanding of Emergency Department Recidivism: A Clinical Application of the Health Belief Model (Haley Medina) 

Grants

  • Recent Grants:
  • “The School of Communication Iterative Approach to Curriculum Revision.” (2021-2023). Role: PI. Funding Agency: Teagle Foundation. 
  • “Initiative for Strategic Communication and Learning.” (2019-2022) Role: PI. Funding Agency: Department of Defense/U.S. Marine Corps. 
  • “Mapping the Genetics Communication Circuit: Genetic Counseling, Family Conversations, and Information Seeking Behaviors.” (2018-2024) Role: PI. Funding Agency: Utah Center for Excellence in ELSI Research (National Institutes of Health/National Human Genome Institute; PI: Jeffrey Botkin, University of Utah)

Publications

  • Canary, H. E. (2024). WSCA 2024 Presidential Address. Western Journal of Communication, 88(5), 931-934, https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2024.2396011
  • Leath-Lacy, N., Canary, H. E., & Martinez, L. S. (2024). Cultivating social justice and anti-racism across the curriculum: A school of communication case study. Communication Teacher, 38(2), 162-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2023.2299677.
  • Beach, W. A., Canary, H. E., Chen, Y-W, Daly, B. M., Gammon, A., Savage, M. W., Madlensky, L., & Kaphingst, K. A. (2023). Communication about negative and uncertain results: Interactional dilemmas during a genetic telehealth consult. Health Communication, 38(14), 3252-3263. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2145770
  • Canary, H. E., Wellman, N.*, & Martinez, L. S. (2022). COVID-19, genetics, and risk: 
    Content analysis of Facebook posts early in the coronavirus pandemic. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2027639
  • Diener, M. L., Kirby, A., Sumsion, F., Canary, H. E., & Green, M. M. (2021). Community 
    reintegration processes following paediatric brain injury: Perspectives of caregivers and service providers. Disability and Rehabilitation, 44(19), 5592-5602. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2021.1946176