Mary Dahm

Dr Mary Dahm is a Senior Research Fellow and ARC DECRA Fellow at the Australian National University (ANU), based in the School of Literature, Languages & Linguistics and affiliated with the Institute for Communication in Health Care (ICH). Her work focuses on health communication, diagnostic safety, and patient-centered approaches to healthcare. She holds a PhD (Macquarie University) and MA (University of Konstanz).

Education:

• PhD, Macquarie University
• M.A., University of Konstanz

Research Interests: Her research integrates qualitative and mixed methods to address diagnostic uncertainty, patient-clinician communication, and healthcare policy. She leads projects on diagnostic safety, including a DECRA-funded study on communicating uncertainty in diagnosis and collaborations on improving test result management and shared decision-making.

Recent Contributions: Recent articles explore communication in emergency care, shared decision-making for dialysis patients, and pedagogical strategies for teaching uncertainty communication in healthcare. Her work has been featured in BMJ Open, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and other peer-reviewed journals.

Awards:

• ARC DECRA Fellowship (2022)
• ACT Health Rising Star Award (2024)
• SIDM Fellowship in Diagnostic Excellence

Advising & Grants: Supervises research projects on diagnostic communication, consumer engagement, and policy analysis. Current grants include the ABIM Foundation’s “Communicating Wisely” project and a DECRA-funded initiative. She co-leads workshops to enhance patient contributions to healthcare policy.

Labs & Teams: Active in the ICH and collaborates with multidisciplinary teams including clinicians, patient advocates, and policymakers to advance diagnostic safety and health communication practices.