Belal Hossain
- Ph.D. Student
Contact Info
Personal Links
Biography —
Belal Hossain is a second-year doctoral student at the William Allen School of Journalism & Mass Communications. He is also a 2026-2027 Institute for Policy & Social Research (IPSR) doctoral fellow and a 2025-2026 University Graduate fellow. He earned his bachelor’s in television and film studies from the University of Dhaka and master’s in communication and media from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Before moving to the United States in 2023, he spent more than seven years working as a journalist at well-known national media outlets in Bangladesh, where he covered business and health issues. Transitioning from journalism to academia, Belal finds fulfillment in both teaching and research. In the classroom, he takes a student-centered approach to teaching journalism, media, and communication-related courses. Primarily interested in mass communication research, Belal seeks to comprehend two overarching questions: (1) how media communication spontaneously alters thoughts of individuals and society, and (2) how media communication can deliberately be employed to influence individuals and society for a healthier world. So far, he has conducted studies exploring mental health in crisis situations, health information-seeking behaviors among rural older adults, psychological factors in health messaging, among others. Beyond academics, Belal enjoys writing diaries, taking photos on the street, and listening to folk music.
Research —
Research interests
- Health Communication
- Strategic Communication
- Emerging Technologies
- Community Development
Research Groups
- EmTech and Public Interest Tech Group
- Experimental Research Group
Teaching —
Courses Taught
- JMC 101: Media and Society (Aug. 2026 – present, KU)
- COMM 100: Fundamentals of Communication (Aug. 2023 – May 2025, MNSU)
Selected Presentations —
Publications/Conference Presentations
Seo, H., Burkett, K. M., Morales, O. L., Rossel, J., Liu, H., Hossain, B., & Muzhingi, S. (2026). Countering misinformation about prenatal Tylenol use and autism: a study of U.S. women’s intentions and determinants. Frontiers in Communication, 11(1895866), 1895866. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1895866
Hossain, M. B., & Seo, H. (2026, Aug. 5-8) Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Online Health Information Seeking among Older Adults Living in Rural America [Top Paper]. AEJMC 2026 Conference, New Orleans, LA, United States.
Hossain, M. B., & Appelman, A. (2026, Mar. 6-7) Expert vs Crowd vs AI: Perceived Gatekeeping and the Effects of Technological Platforms [Conference session]. AEJMC 2026 Midwinter Conference, Norman, OK, United States.
Hossain, M. B. (2024, Nov. 21-24) Letter of Beauty [Top Paper]. NCA 110th Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, United States.
Kabir, M. E., & Hossain, M. B. (2024, August 8-11). Is Bangladeshi audience ready for AI in newsroom? a comparison of sentiment-based LDA topic modeling analysis [Conference Presentation]. 107th Annual AEJMC Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Azad, M., Chowdhury, M. A., Hossain, M. B., & Zakaria, M. (2024, Oct. 27-30). Discrepancy in medical consultation time by ethnicity: A cross-sectional study [Oral session]. 2024 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
Zakaria, M., Nazmin, M., Bhuiyan, M. N. K., & Hossain, M. B. (2024, Oct. 27-30). The effect of COVID-19 on tobacco quit intentions and quit attempts among adults in Bangladesh: An application of health belief model (HBM) [Poster session]. 2024 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo, Minneapolis, MN, United States.