PROFESSIONAL

Dr. Tham Jen Sern is a tenured Associate Professor of Communication in the Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Malaysia. He is the Vice President-elect (Malaysia) of the World Communication Association (2023–2027). He also serves as a research fellow with the Debiasing and Lay Informatics (DaLI) Lab at the Center for Applied Social Research, University of Oklahoma. He is a regular member of the International Communication Association (ICA), and a life member of both the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM) and the Malaysian Association of Communication Educators (MACE). Previously, he served as Director of UPM-UNICEF C4D (2022-2024), where he worked closely with UNICEF to institutionalize social and behavior change (SBC) projects.

Dr. Tham received both his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Media Studies and Doctor of Philosophy from the Universiti Malaya (UM). In 2010, he was awarded a postgraduate fast-track scholarship by UM to pursue his PhD studies prior to completing his undergraduate degree.

His research primarily focuses on health and risk communication, particularly how specific target groups acquire, process, and utilize health-related information across different sources. His work draws upon health- and communication-related theories to refine strategic communication, inform social marketing and health education efforts, and develop behavior change initiatives aimed at preventing specific health risks. His work has been published in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Digital Health, Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Communication Studies, BMC Public Health, and elsewhere.

Dr. Tham has been invited to serve as a communication expert for reviewing diploma and bachelor’s programs at various higher education providers (HEPs), ensuring the programs align with the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) standards. With that, he is appointed as a member of the Panel of Assessor (APP) by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) from 2025 to 2028.

He serves as Section Editor of the Malaysian Journal of Communication and as Editor (Communication) of the Journal of Language and Communication. He also sits on the editorial board of the Asian Journal of Applied Communication (AJAC). He regularly reviews manuscripts for journals such as the Health Communication, Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), JMIR Infodemiology, JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, and Behaviour & Information Technology, The Review of Communication, and many more.

Before joining UPM, Dr. Tham began his career as a Bahasa Malaysia teacher at Tsun Jin High School, preparing students for the national Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination. After earning his doctorate, he served as a full-time lecturer at New Era University College (NEUC) before moving to Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), where he was an Assistant Professor and Head of Master’s Programs.