Incheon National University (President Park Jong-tae) announced that Yoo Woo-hyun, a professor of media communication, won the Sharon Dunwoody Award given by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Professor Yoo Woo-hyun is an expert in health and risk communication and received a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in 2014 and has been teaching at the University of Incheon since 2017. The main areas of research are the use of digital media and the development of communication strategies for public health and health promotion. Recently, Professor Yoo drew attention by presenting a number of research results verifying the effectiveness of digital health communication in the crisis of infectious diseases such as MERS and COVID-19 at international prominent academic journals and academic conferences. 

The Sheran Dunwoodie Award was established in 2019 to honor the dedication and achievement of the world's leading professor of media communication, Sheran Dunwoodie, and is awarded annually to scholars who have outstanding achievements in education and research within 5-10 years of earning a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The award was thus recognized by his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for his outstanding academic achievements and contributions. He was also honored as the first foreign alumnus to receive the award.

Professor Yoo Woo-hyun said at an award ceremony held on the occasion of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's alumni day, "The Sheran Dunwoodie Award is not just a personal achievement, but a reminder of the responsibilities we all have to share. An award named after an outstanding individual in a field inspires me to uphold the values of integrity, curiosity, and influence in everything I do. I will continue to study and teach hard so that my younger students can grow," he said in his acceptance speech. 

The University of Wisconsin Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication was founded in 1905 and is one of the leading programs in education and research in communication and media worldwide.