Lisa Merten

Dr. Lisa Merten is a Senior Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans Bredow Institute (HBI), where she leads computational social science projects like POLTRACK, examining the relationship between information repertoires and political polarization. She also coordinates the DFG-funded 'Public Connection' project, exploring how users engage with diverse publics through media practices. Her research focuses on digital media environments, algorithm-driven personalization, and the impact of social media on news consumption and public opinion.

Education:
- Studied Communication Science at Universität Leipzig, TU Dresden, Universiteit van Amsterdam, and Boston University
- German Academic Scholarship Foundation recipient

Research Interests:
- Algorithmic publics and personalization
- Political information seeking and polarization
- Digital methods for media analysis
- Journalism and online commentary dynamics

Key Projects:
- Co-led the POLTRACK project with GESIS and universities of Bremen/Konstanz
- Investigated Instagram influencers' reach in 'Media Use and Social Cohesion' with Hannah Immler
- Pioneered browser data donation methods in journalism studies

Awards:
- 2021 Digital Journalism 'Article of the Year' for work on social media news curation

Teaching:
- Held part-time junior professorship in Computational Social Science at University of Konstanz (2021)
- Taught at University of Hamburg, Augsburg, and Kiel University of Applied Sciences

Labs/Teams:
- Core member of HBI's Computational Social Science team
- Collaborates with GESIS, Bremen/Konstanz universities, and international partners