
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
June 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

With President Barack Obama at my Ph.D. Commencement, 16 May 2009, Arizona State University
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)