NG (Niels) Mede

Niels G. Mede (PhD, University of Zurich, 2022) is an Assistant Professor of Science Communication in the Strategic Communication Group. His research centres on science and environmental communication—specifically on digital platforms—and public perceptions of science, harassment of scholars and science communicators, and survey methods.

Before joining Wageningen University & Research in July 2025, Niels worked at the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ) at the University of Zurich since 2018, first as a Research Assistant (2018-2022) and then as a Senior Research and Teaching Associate (2023-2025). During that time, he was a visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, the University of Oxford, the Queensland University of Technology, and the University of Southern Denmark. In 2022, he completed his PhD at the University of Zurich with a thesis on the conceptualization and measurement of “science-related populism” and its implications for science communication.

Niels is currently co-leading two survey projects on public opinion and communication about science: the 68-country study TISP, which investigates trust in scientists and their role in society worldwide, and the Science Barometer Switzerland, a 2016-2031 survey of the Swiss population. As part of a 2025 fellowship at the Digital Democracy Centre at the University of Southern Denmark, he is conducting a project that investigates user perceptions and reactions to online hate speech against scientists in Denmark, Germany, the US, and the UK. Beyond that, Niels serves as co-chair of the Science Communication Section of the German Communication Association (DGPuK) and Secretary of the Environmental Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA). Niels is also committed to Open Science, for example in his roles as a fellow of the Center for Reproducible Science at the University of Zurich and member of the ORCID Researcher Advisory Council.

In the Strategic Communication Group, Niels continues his research on science communication and collaborates with the group on projects on communication about science and science-related issues, such as climate change and health. See his homepage for more information, including his CV and publication list. You also find his publications on Google Scholar.