01.10.2024New People at the Department

Michelle Möri
Michelle Möri joined IKMZ in August 2024 and works as a Senior Research and Teaching Associate in the Media Use and Effects division.  She has obtained her PhD in media and communication research with a focus on media use and effects at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). In her dissertation, she analyzed people's parasocial relationships with media characters in everyday media use with studies combining usage tracking, experience sampling surveys, and content analyses. Besides her general research interest in media use and effects, media psychology and psychophysiological measurements, at the IKMZ, her research will focus on the role of (social) media in health information, online health experts and e-health literacy.

We warmly welcome Michelle Möri as a new member of the IKMZ team!

Elena Engel
Elena Engel is a research assistant in the Media Use and Media Effects division at IKMZ from September to October 2024.
She completed her Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies and English as well as her Master's degree in Health Communication at the University of Erfurt. In 2021, Elena Engel worked as a research assistant at the University of Erfurt and subsequently as a research assistant at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media.
Since June 2022, she has been a project assistant in the FWF project "Health Influencers on Social Media" at the MCI | The Entrepreneurial School in Innsbruck and since October 2023, she has been a Ph.D. student at the University of Vienna.

We warmly welcome Elena Engel as a new member of the IKMZ team!

Qinghao Guan
Qinghao Guan joined the Computational Social and Communication Science division at IKMZ as a Student Assistant in September 2024. He will change his function soon to a Teaching and Research Assistant. Previously, he was a master's student in Computational Linguistics at the University of Zurich. His research interests broadly include textual analysis in digital humanities and text mining for social media. Specifically, his recent research was on how Large Language Models (LLMs) convey and communicate information.

We warmly welcome Qinghao Guan as a new member of the IKMZ team!

Lion Wedel
Lion Wedel joins the Media Use & Effects division at IKMZ as a Research Fellow from October 2024 until the end of the year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Economics from Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and a master’s degree from RWTH Aachen University in Computational Social Systems. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in communications science at the Freie Universität Berlin and working as a research associate at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society Berlin in the Digital News Dynamics research group. His research is located at the intersection between computational and social sciences. In his research he is focusing on the application of computational methods to social science topics, and on audience perceptions of news and information on visual social media platforms. During his time at the IKMZ, he will work on the large-scale content classification of user digital data retrieved through data donations of TikTok and YouTube users.

We warmly welcome Lion Wedel as a new member of the IKMZ team!

Janine Blessing
Janine N. Blessing joined IKMZ in October 2024 as a Postdoctoral Researcher. She works in a SNF-funded project led by Sarah Geber that explores the effects of traditional and alternative news media on norms of compliance and opposition during times of crisis, specifically in the context of climate change.
Previously, she was a research assistant at the University of Augsburg, Department of Media, Knowledge, and Communication with research stays for example at the Penn State University, USA. She finished her PhD in July 2024. In her dissertation, she analyzed how journalistic science reporting on emerging technologies in the medical field (such as mRNA-vaccines or brain-computer-interfaces) affects recipients' risk perception and their intention to engage further with the innovation.
Broadly, her research interests include media effects related to science, health, and the environment, as well as risk perception and information seeking behavior in these areas. Janine has participated in various interdisciplinary and international research projects.

We warmly welcome Janine Blessing as a new member of the IKMZ team!

Morgan Wack
Morgan Wack joined the International & Comparative Media Research division at IKMZ in October 2024 as a Postdoctoral Researcher. Previously, he was an Assistant Research Professor at Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub. He has a PhD in political science from the University of Washington. His current research is focused on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by motivated actors to influence voter perceptions and behaviors. This research builds on his prior policy experience advising politicians and organizations based in sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. His other research interests include the study of the contemporary impact of digital forms of mis- and disinformation as well as the role of new technologies in inciting real-world violence.

We warmly welcome Morgan Wack as a new member of the IKMZ team!