Her research examines the role of communication in how people form opinions about and engage with scientific and environmental issues. She often studies these questions in the context of social media and online discussions, such as newspaper comments. Some of her recent work examines how communication around extreme weather events plays a role in perceptions of climate change. She has a PhD in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University.