A CIRANO Associate Researcher since 2018, Brenda Berkelaar is Research Consultant and Fellow in the Center for Health Communication, Moody College of Communication, Dell Medical School, School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin.

Holder of a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from Purdue University, she studies work and technology - that is, given information and communication technologies, how does work, work? From health communication perspective, work and technology affect individual, organizational, and community processes, outcomes, and wellbeing. Current projects with the Center for Health Communication include studying how electronic medical records affect the healthcare workflow and practitioners’ engagement, effectiveness, and efficiency; consulting with a cross-functional team to help nonprofit healthcare providers improve organizational communication processes and outcomes; and the development and delivery of health communication, leadership, and organizational training for professional and career development.