Sascha Thürmann is a Research Associate at the chair of Prof. Dr. Martina Thiele (focus: Digitalization and Social Responsibility)

His research interests and focal points include quantitative and qualitative methods of empirical communication research as well as reception and effect research, with a focus on parasocial interactions and relationships in the context of Queer, Gender, and Masculinity Studies.

Sascha Thürmann studied Public Relations and Corporate Communication as well as Applied Communication Science at the University of Applied Sciences Kiel. In parallel, he completed a six-month training as a certified subject tutor and has supported teaching in the Media Department in the areas of Empirical Communication Research, Academic Working, and Media and Communication Studies since 2018. Another activity alongside his studies was in organizing higher education didactic training events as well as study program and module development.

In completed empirical projects during his studies, Sascha Thürmann dealt with the significance of media role models in the development of sexual identity and compared parasocial interaction of heterosexual and non-heterosexual recipients. His dissertation builds on these projects and has the provisional working title: "Media Socialization of Non-Heterosexual Masculinities* through Audiovisual Media"