Bio

Kristen D. Landreville, PhD, is a Senior Research Scholar at North Carolina State University, where she leads social science and public engagement research as part of the Societal and Ethical Implications (SEI) Core in the PreMiEr Engineering Research Center. She collaborates with teams across five universities to investigate public understanding of microbiomes of the built environment, such as fungal mold in households along coastal towns. She appreciates community-engaged research and strives to make research responsive to the community. Broadly, Kristen is a social scientist with experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She uses her expertise in communication, media, psychology, and political science to study public attitudes and behaviors surrounding science, the environment, health, and risk.

Prior to joining the Genetic Engineering and Society Center in 2023, Kristen worked as an Associate Professor of Communication and Journalism at the University of Wyoming for 13 years. She directed the graduate communication program for five years and mentored 50+ graduate students, created and directed a science journalism internship program with 50+ students, and served as senior personnel on two NSF grants, one about microbial ecology and another about climate change. Beyond Kristen’s professional achievements, she has four children, who are her greatest source of joy and inspiration. Her husband, Judd Larson, works as a research chemical and environmental engineer at RTI International and is always eager to answer any questions Kristen has about microbes.

Education

PhD, Ohio State University; MA, University of Florida; BS, University of Florida

Grants & Projects

• Research Fellow and Communication Specialist on $20 million NSF Wyoming EPSCoR grant “Wyoming Anticipating the Climate Transitions”, June 2022 – June 2027, University of Wyoming, https://wyact.wyoepscor.org/index.php
• Broader Impacts Collaborator and Director of Science Journalism Internship Program on $20 million NSF Wyoming EPSCoR grant “Linking Microbial Life To Ecosystem Services Across Wyoming’s Dynamic Landscape”, September 2017 – June 2023, University of Wyoming, https://microcollaborative.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PUB/overview

Featured In

Selected list of expert interviews:

• Expert interview source in “Why we don’t trust science,” a feature story on Wyoming Public Radio by Ashley Piccone (July 17, 2020). Retrieved from https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/why-we-dont-trust-science
• Expert interview source in “Fighting fake news with a trademark,” a video news story on Global News: Washington by Reggie Cecchini (November 2, 2019). Archived at https://globalnews.ca/video/6119386/fighting-fake-news-with-a-trademark/
• Expert interview source in “Saturday University explores ‘fake news’ and more tomorrow,” an online story on Jackson Hole News & Guide by Jen Kocher (October 18, 2019). Retrieved from https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/the_hole_scroll/saturday-university-explores-fake-news-and-more-tomorrow/article_ea8cb591-1b2a-5a34-bf26-a2adb8bde4f0.html

Highlighted Publications

See all publications on Google Scholar >