Thandi Lyew Named 2026-27 Perry World House Graduate Fellow
Her research uncovers the most effective ways to communicate messages about environmental decisions and health behavior in order to help people live healthier lives.
Thandi Lyew, a doctoral candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named a Perry World House Graduate Fellow. Lyew is one of 25 Penn graduate students selected to form the 2026-27 cohort.
Lyew’s research investigates the effects of message framing on environmental decisions and health behavior. She evaluates the factors that contribute to message effectiveness, such as curiosity, empathy, attitudes, and beliefs.
“I’m thrilled to join the Perry World House Graduate Fellows community and to have the opportunity to bring a stronger policy lens to my research,” she says. “My work examines how people respond to uncertainty, particularly around health and climate change, and how those responses shape the information they seek, share, remember, and act on. I’m looking forward to learning directly from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners about how research can be translated into policy discussions and decision-making.”
The Perry World House Graduate Fellows Program supports emerging leaders at Penn who want to connect their research to global policymaking and effectively communicate the policy implications of their work to broader audiences. This year’s Graduate Fellows Program cohort has been assembled through a highly competitive selection process to engage graduate students from all 12 of the University’s graduate schools.
During her time as a Perry World House Graduate Fellow, Lyew will continue her research with Annenberg’s Addiction, Health, & Adolescence (AHA!) Lab and Communication Neuroscience Lab.
