The U of A Center for Public Health and Technology will host its first speaker Tuesday in a series focused on public health research, health literacy and emerging media and digital technologies.

Tyler Prochnow, Ph.D., assistant professor of health behavior in the School of Public Health at Texas A&M University, will speak at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the Graduate Education Building, room 343. His talk is titled "Connections Matter: In life, health, and research." Registration is required.

Prochnow's research interests include the social dynamics which drive health behavior. His primary areas of research involve youth physical activity, mental health and social network analysis. The human body is wired for connection, physically, mentally and emotionally. Social network analysis is one tool to quantify and evaluate connections between people and what they might mean for health, health behavior and health belief.

In his talk, Prochnow will offer a primer on social network analysis, including how he has used it to study topics like youth physical activity, mental health among online gamers and professional collaborations in health care. He also plans to lead a discussion on how social network analysis could be used in ongoing research within health and technology to answer new research questions.

The second speaker in the center's series is Mark Williams, Ph.D., dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. His talk, "What's in a picture: The influence of social networks on health," will be at noon on Friday, Oct. 14, in the Graduate Education Building, room 239. Registration is required.

The Center for Public Health and Technology, in the U of A College of Education and Health Professions, is a new hub for interdisciplinary research. The center specializes in public health research and communication, health literacy, and emerging media and digital technologies in the U.S. and around the globe. Faculty bring together diverse disciplines and capitalize on mixed methodologies to support public health surveillance, intervention and evaluation in advancing health and human rights, social justice and health equity.

Prochnow's talk is co-sponsored by the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation's Outside Guest Speaker Series (HOGSS).