ABOUT ME

current academic appointments
 

Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Lugano (USI), Switzerland
January 2016 - present    Founding Director, Center for the Advancement of Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety (CAHQS)
January 2016 - present    Associate Professor (tenured)

School of Medicine, University of Cardiff, United Kingdom
November 2016 - present     Honorary Research Fellow

Department of Health, Behavior & Society, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
January 2016 - present     Associate Faculty

past academic appointments

Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Lugano (USI), Switzerland
July 2011 – December 2015    Assistant Professor (tenure-track)

Department of Communication, Wake Forest University, USA
July 2009 - June 2011    Assistant Professor (tenure-track)
      
Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, WFU School of Medicine
Nov 2009 – June 2011    Assistant Professor (tenure-track)
      
The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University
May 2007 – May 2009    Graduate Teaching Associate
Aug 2006 – May 2007    Conflict Transformation Research Fellow
      
School of Communication, San Diego State University
Aug 2004 – May 2006    Graduate Teaching Assistant
Jan 2005 – May 2006    Academic advisor for undergraduate students

educational history

Ph.D., Arizona State University (USA), Communication Sciences, February 2009, GPA: 4.0
Emphasis: Interpersonal Communication, Quantitative and qualitative research methods
Dissertation: "When the Truth Hurts: Toward a Validation of the Physician Mistake Disclosure (PMD) Model"
Chair: Dr. Kory Floyd, The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication
Committee: Dr. Paul Mongeau, The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication; Dr. Marilyn Thompson, Department of Psychology in Education  

M.A., Arizona State University (USA); Measurement, Statistics, and Methodological Studies, Department of Psychology in Education (coursework completed)
Emphasis: Quantitative Research Methods and Designs
Chair: Dr. Marilyn Thompson, Department of Psychology in Education
      
M.A., San Diego State University (USA), Communication Sciences, May 2006, GPA: 4.0
Emphasis: Quantitative Research Methods, Interpersonal Communication
Thesis: "My Child Can Beat Your Child, But Not Me’: Developing a Measure of Parental Self-Evaluation Maintenance (PSEM)."
Chair: Dr. Brian Spitzberg, School of Communication
Committee: Dr. Peter Andersen, School of Communication; Dr. Scott Roesch, Department of Psychology
      
B.A., San Diego State University (USA), August 2002, GPA: 4.0
Major: Communication Studies
Emphasis: Media Management

date of birth

April 27, 1979 in Konstanz (Germany)