She received her Ph.D. in communication from Michigan State University. Turner has held faculty positions in Departments of Communication at the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, and the University of Maryland. Turner’s expertise is in campaign message design and evaluation, risk communication, risk perception, and cognitive processing of health risks—including informed decision making and critical thinking. Most recently her work has centered on assessing and evaluating the social marketing tactics being used world-wide to address obesity, risk aversion to obesity treatments, and the use of emotional appeals to change obesity related behaviors.