Maria Grub, M.A.

Education and Academic Career

• SoSe 2024–ongoing: Doctoral Researcher, Institute of Communication Science (IfKW), University of Jena
• WiSe 2023–ongoing: Academic Researcher, Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim
• 2021–2024: Master's degree in Media and Communication Science, University of Mannheim. Thesis: "A bot a day keeps the doctor away: An empirical survey on attitudes towards human versus AI chat operators in a mental health context"
• 2023: Exchange semester, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas (Lithuania)
• 2022–2023: Student researcher and tutor for statistics and data analysis using R Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim
• 2018–2021: Bachelor's degree in Media and Communication Science, University of Mannheim. Thesis: "‘A rape is a rape is a rape’ – A qualitative content analysis of rape frames regarding male rape in UK print media" 

Work Experience (non-academic)

• 2021–2023: Trainee Market Research, Q | Agentur für Forschung
• 2016–2018: Au Pair (USA)

• Disinformation and the role of AI in its dissemination and detection
• Algorithm Literacy
• Online Communities on various platforms (e.g., Reddit, Twitch)
• Political activism, endorsement and influence on political events by celebrities

• LIBERTY Connect Fund 2025 (University of Jena) for the project: When gaming wins elections: Twitch als Plattform für politische Meinungsbildung bei Jungwähler*innen. 
• Best Conference Paper Award 2024 (2. Place) for "Experiences, sensemaking and attitudes towards algorithms in mediated communication: An integrative review of the literature." at DGPuK Jahrestagung 2024, Erfurt, Germany.

• SoSe 2025: Interview Methodology in Research Practice (2xBA), Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
• WiSe 2024: Politics in the spotlight: The interplay between politics and celebrity (BA), Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
• WiSe 2024: Interview Methodology in Research Practice (BA), Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
• SoSe 2024: Interview Methodology in Research Practice (BA), Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena
• SoSe 2024: Quantitative Content Analysis: Algorithmic literacy in the media (BA), University Mannheim
• SoSe 2024: Theories of the Digital (BA), University Mannheim
• WiSe 2023: Quantitative Content Analysis (BA), University Mannheim
• WiSe 2023: Introduction to scientific working (BA), University Mannheim

International Teaching Experience

• 2024: IULM International Week 2024, Mailand (Italien)

Conferences

• Forthcoming: Grub, M. F., Wurm, A., & Kauk, J. (2025, June 30 – July 4). Gaming the political arena: An analysis of political messaging on Twitch in Germany. Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) Conference 2025, Valetta, Malta. 
• Forthcoming: Grub, M. F. (2025, June 12-16). Navigating mental health online: A comparative analysis of depression, anxiety, and mental health communities on Reddit. ICA 2025, Denver, Colorado, USA.
• Forthcoming: Grub, M. F. & Humprecht, E. (2025, June 12). The disruptive and consolidating roles of AI: A systematic literature review on AI and disinformation. ICA pre-conference HMC Interest Group: Disrupting and Consolidating Human-Machine Communication, Denver, Colorado, USA: 
• Grub, M. F. & Naab, T. K. (2025, March 19 – 21). Evaluating the role of AI in mental health: A study of user attitudes towards AI in mental health support. 70th Annual Conference of the DGPuK, Berlin, Germany. 
• Grub, M.  F. & Naab, T. K. (2025, January 22–24). Empathie im Digitalen Zeitalter: Vergleich der Nutzerwahrnehmung von menschlichen und KI-Chatoperatoren in der digitalen psychischen Gesundheitsversorgung. Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung in der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK), Bamberg, Germany. 
• Grub, M.  F. (2024, November 20–22). Reddit as a “Safe Space” – Topic modeling of online mental health communities for depression and anxiety on Reddit. DGPuK Conference Health Communi­cation 2024, Lucerne, Switzerland.
• Gagrčin, E., Naab, T. K., & Grub, M. F. (2024, June 20–24). Algorithmic media use and algotithmic literacy: An integrative literature review. ICA 2024, Cold Coast, Australia.
• Gagrčin, E., Naab, T. K., & Grub, M. F. (2024, March 13–16). Experiences, sensemaking and attitudes towards algorithms in mediated communication: An integrative review of the literature. DGPuK Jahrestagung 2024, Erfurt, Germany.
• Grub M. F., Müller, P., & Vorderer, P. (2023, July 9–13). Between fact and illusion: An experimental study on acquiring political knowledge on social media. IAMCR 2023, Lyon, France.

Posters

• Forthcoming: Grub, M. F. & Naab, T. K. (2025, June 12–16). Understanding user preferences in mental health AI. Social Presence, Algorithmic Aversion, and Algorithm Literacy in Human-Machine Communication. ICA 2025, Denver, Colorado, USA.
• Forthcoming: Grub, M. F. & Humprecht, E. (2025, May 15–16). Interdisciplinary approaches to AI-driven political disinformation: A systematic literature review. Computational Social Science: AI and Society – Exploring Inequality in the Digital Age Workshop, Mannheim, Germany. 
• Grub, M.F., Yanchenko, K., Ziemer, C.T., & Humprecht, E. (2025, March 19 – 21). Understanding the Impact of Pro-Kremlin Narratives on Voting Intentions in the Former GDR: A Study on State Elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg. 70th Annual Conference of the DGPuK, Berlin, Germany. 
• Grub, M. F. (2024). A bot a day keeps the doctor away: An empirical survey on attitudes towards human versus AI chat operators in a mental health context. Interactions with Language-Based AI: Concluding Conference of the Human-Agent Interaction Network, Leibniz Institut für Wissmedien (IWM), Tübingen, Germany.

Workshops

• Forthcoming: 2025: Computational Social Science: AI and Society – Exploring Inequality in the Digital Age Workshop, Mannheim, Germany.
• 2024: PhD Workshop, 6th Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media (MISDOOM), Münster

• Grub, M. F. (accepted). “A rape is a rape is a rape” – A qualitative content analysis of male rape frames in UK print media. Studies in Communication and Media (SCM). 
• Gagrcin, E., Naab, T.K., & Grub, M. F. (2024). Algorithmic media use and algorithm literacy: An integrative literature review. New Media & Society. doi: 10.1177/14614448241291137