- Since October 2015 – Professor of Communication (Strategic Communication), Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
- 2013–2014 – Acting Professor of Communication (Political Communication), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Winter Semester).
- 2009–2015 – Senior Lecturer / Assistant Professor, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
- Research and teaching stays at the University of Sheffield, University of Gothenburg, and Venice International University.
- 2006–2009 – Research Associate, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen–Nuremberg; earned Ph.D. (Dr. rer. pol.)
- 2000–2005 – Studies in Media and Communication Studies, Psychology, and Law, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
- Strategic Communication – with a focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA), greenwashing, informal communication, and crisis communication
- Persuasive Communication – with a focus on advertising effects, repetition and credibility effects
- Relationship between Journalism and Public Relations – with a focus on the blurring boundaries between journalism and PR, as well as brand journalism
- Media Reception and Media Effects
- Head and academic coordinator of the Master’s programme in StrategicCommunication
- Chair of the Division for Reception and Media Effects Research, German Society for Journalism and Communication Studies (2015–2019)
- Reviewer for numerous national and international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Media Psychology, European Journal of Communication, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Media Psychology, New Media & Society, Information, Communication & Society, Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, among others
- Active involvement in academic self-governance, serving as chair and member of various university committees and commissions
- Member of the International Communication Association (ICA), European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), and German Society for Journalism and Communication Studies (DGPuK)
- EUPRERA Best Paper Award 2026 (2nd place) for the paper “Not any stance, but my stance! Why people support corporate social advocacy only when it aligns with their own position” (co-authored with Sandra Mechler and Nora Denner)
- EUPRERA Best Paper Award 2025 (1st place) for the paper “The Diversity Washing Dilemma: How Diverse Corporate Self-Presentation and Product Communication Enhance Image and Credibility – And How Misalignment Can Backfire” (co-authored with Sandra Mechler and Nora Denner)
- JCM Distinguished Paper Award 2025, for „Opinion leaders in organizational change processes: Insights from a large-scale quantitative survey to identify, characterize, and classify influential employees within a multinational corporation.” in Journal of Change Management (co-authored with Claudia Fortkord)
- Top Paper 2025, Environmental Communication Division, International Communication Association (ICA), for “What is Greenwashing? A Scoping Review of Greenwashing Definitions and a Conceptual Model of Its Causes, Emergence and Consequences” (co-authored with Nora Denner)
- Top Paper, Communication Theory & Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), for “Media’s Influence on Judgments of Truth: Why People Trust in Bad Rather Than Good News” (co-authored with Christina Peter)
- Top Paper, Annual Conference of the Division for Reception and Media Effects Research, for “Backfire Effect: Why Correcting Misinformation Can Produce Opposite Effects” (co-authored with Christina Peter)
- Top Paper, Annual Conference of the Division for Reception and Media Effects Research, for “When Silence Is Golden: An Analysis of the Paradoxical Effects of Strong and Weak Arguments” (co-authored with Magdalena Obermaier)
- Communication Research — Award for Outstanding Service as a Reviewer (2017)
- Six Excellence in Teaching Awards