I completed my PhD at University of Utah (2015-2020), where my training was focused on strategic health and science communication. I worked in the labs of Drs. Jakob Jensen and Kimberly Kaphingst in the Department of Communication and the Huntsman Cancer Institute. I also received extensive training through the Utah Center for Excellence in ELSI Research (UCEER), one of a handful of centers funded by the NHGRI to conduct research on the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of genomics.
In Fall 2020, I joined the Department of Communication Studies at University of Georgia as an assistant professor of health communication, where I’m leading the Communicating Uncertain Science to the Public (CUSP) Lab.
My scholarly interests and research pertain to:
- News media presentation of biomedical research
- Public understanding of science, especially scientific uncertainty
- Communication about health research participation
- Mass media health campaign design and evaluation
- Resistance to persuasion or threats to autonomy (e.g., psychological reactance)
- Metascience
I primarily examine these topics in the contexts of communication about cancer, genomics, and precision medicine.
Prior to graduate school I worked as a journalist covering health psychology for several outlets, including Men’s Health and U.S. News. I also cowrote a book called The Great Cardio Myth about how exercise research has been misinterpreted for the public.