Dr. Porismita Borah
Porismita Borah (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is the co-director of the Murrow Virtual Reality Lab. Borah is a Professor at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, a graduate faculty in the Prevention Science program, and the Director of the Digital Media & Society Lab (https://labs.wsu.edu/dmd/) at Washington State University. Borah primarily studies discourse on digital platforms as well as message effects in the context of both politics and health. Her work has been published in top journals such as Journal of Communication, Political Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and New Media and Society. Borah has received funding from multiple sources including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and the Poynter Institute for her research. Learn more about Borah’s research at http://porismitaborah.com/. Borah is currently the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research.
Dr. Yoon-Joo Lee
Yoon-Joo Lee, Ph.D., is the co-director of the Murrow Virtual Reality Lab. Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Strategic Communication at Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. Her research focuses on international and cross-cultural advertising, social media advertising, virtual reality, and AI & communication. As a faculty member at the Murrow College, Dr. Lee’s work has consistently explored human information processing, media effects, and message processing in emerging media environments. She brings a strong foundation in understanding how individuals cognitively and emotionally engage with persuasive media messages, particularly through evolving digital and immersive technologies. She has published over 45 articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, including the International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and the Journal of Business Research, among others. Dr. Lee also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Interactive Advertising. She is also an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Advertising. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication and Information from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Dr. Bimbisar Irom
Bimbisar Irom (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is a member of the Murrow Virtual Reality Lab. Irom is an Assistant Professor in the Journalism and Media Production department at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University. He researches humanitarian communication, which is located at the intersection of practice, moral philosophy, emerging technologies, strategies, representations, and media institutions. Irom’s work examines how communication systems operate in human crises situations, such as forced migration, to craft relationships of proximity or distance between media consumers and ‘distant sufferers’ through narrative and visual strategies. His work is primarily invested in examining how media across multiple platforms can represent vulnerable populations more accurately and how information systems can function efficiently to address inequities that exist in varied forms. Irom has published widely in top-tier journals such as Communication Theory, Journalism, New Media & Society, and Journal of Refugee Studies.
Folake Okor
Folake Okor (M.A.) is a member of the Murrow Virtual Reality Lab. Okor is a PhD student at Murrow College of Communication and a research assistant at the Murrow VR lab. Her research focuses on examining the influence of social media and emerging technologies on the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of young adults regarding substance use. With a strong interest in health communication, Folake combines quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the relationship between technology and public health.