America Edwards, Ph.D.

America Edwards, Ph.D., is the founder and co-director of the Social Ties Lab at the University of Kentucky, which integrates family communication, technology, and community engagement to advance public and relational health. The lab’s work explores how people connect, cope, and communicate across everyday and crisis contexts, emphasizing how close relationships influence well-being. Edwards is an assistant professor in the School of Information Science. Her research examines how interpersonal and family relationships are maintained, challenged, and transformed through face-to-face and mediated communication.