Michael Haupt

Dr. Michael Haupt investigates human behavior in virtual spaces, with a research focus on political mobilization, misinformation spread, and health decision-making. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego and is a QMSS alumnus (2017). He is currently a Research Scientist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center and co-founder of the Cognitive Media Lab at UC San Diego, where his work combines survey and experimental design, social media analysis, and computational methods to study online communication dynamics. Another line of his research conducts experiments on large language models to examine how AI systems recommend care across different patient profiles. Dr. Haupt is also a market research analyst, working with clients across tech, entertainment, healthcare, and higher education, and is the founder of Haupt Data Insights, a research consultancy specializing in brand strategy and social listening. He is an Associate Editor at JMIR Infodemiology and has published in venues including the Journal of Medical Internet Research and Big Data & Society. His current work uses online experimentation to assess influential features of social media marketing for GLP-1 and cannabis products.