About
Rachel graduated with a BS in Neuroscience from Michigan State University where she discovered her interest in public understanding of science, as well as health and science communication. She obtained her MA in Communication from the Ohio State University and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at UC Davis.
Research Focus
Rachel's research investigates the impact of new communication technologies on supportive communication, with a focus on how AI chatbots reshape interpersonal communication norms and access to mental health support. Her current research aims to characterize the interpersonal dynamics of human-AI and human-human mediated social support in order to (1) develop and test AI chatbot interventions for mental health behavior change, and (2) identify the populations that would benefit most from these interventions. By evaluating the quality of human-AI and human-human mediated supportive interactions, her work has implications for improving access to high quality, tailored mental health support and assessing the utility of AI in health care.
Publications
McKenzie, R. E., Hwang, L. J., Feng, B., & Phillips, E. J. (2025). In-person therapy vs. computer-mediated therapy for college students: Single session outcomes and implications for the patient-therapist relationship. Journal of American College Health, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2496979
Khan, S., Gonzalez, T., McKenzie, R., & Feng, B. (2022). The Influence of Linguistic Agency and Causality Attribution in Support-seeking about Depression on Perceived Stigma and Support Messages. Journal of Health Communication, 27(5), 292-301. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2022.2104412
Layug, A., Krishnamurthy, S., McKenzie, R., & Feng, B. (2022). The Impacts of Social Media Use and Online Racial Discrimination on Asian American Mental Health: Cross-sectional Survey in the United States During COVID-19. JMIR Formative Research, 6(9), e38589. https://doi.org/10.2196/38589
Cabrera, L. Y., Brandt, M., McKenzie, R., & Bluhm, R. (2019). Online comments about psychiatric neurosurgery and psychopharmacological interventions: public perceptions and concerns. Social Science & Medicine, 220, 184-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.11.021
McKenzie, R. (2020). Independence and Interdependence on Social Media: The Impact of Using Mental Health Instagram Posts to Induce Self-Construals (Masters thesis, The Ohio State University). http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1590339810846625
Teaching
TA
CMN 003V Interpersonal Communication Competence: SQ 2025
CMN 101Y Communication Theories: WQ 2024
CMN 102 Empirical Methods in Communication: FQ 2021, FQ 2022, FQ 2023, FQ 2024, WQ 2025
CMN 120 Interpersonal Communication: WQ 2022, WQ 2023, Summer Session I 2025
CNB 123 Intercultural Communication: SQ 2025
CMN 172 Interpersonal Technologies: SQ 2022
AI
CMN 112 Theories of Persuasion: SQ 2024
CMN 172 Interpersonal Technologies: SQ 2023
CMN 102 Empirical Methods in Communication: Summer Session I 2023