S. Michelle Driedger

S. Michelle Driedger is currently an Associate Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Environment and Health Risk Communication, in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Driedger’s broad areas of research interests include public and health risk communication, risk perception, and knowledge translation under conditions of uncertainty. Equally embedded in this program of research is the role that trust plays in the individual or organization that is doing the communication. Drawing primarily on qualitative methods, her research focus involves the study of how new and emerging risk controversies develop in science, policy and public forums. She is particularly interested in how risk communicators can meaningfully engage public audiences to enable informed decisions about risk recommendations. Her research explores these aspects with both general population and Metis contexts.

Dr. Driedger has a number of funded research projects looking at public risk communication concerning pandemic H1N1, as well as looking at how decision-makers navigate uncertainty in policy decisions involving different cancer control and multiple sclerosis treatments.

Dr. Driedger has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Winnipeg, a Master of Arts from Carleton University, and a Doctor of Philosophy from McMaster University.

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