Dr. Maria D. Molina earned her bachelors' in Mass Communication and Speech Communication from West Texas A&M University before earning her MA in Communication Studies from New Mexico State University with a concentration in intercultural communication. She went on to earn her PhD in Mass Communication at Penn State University focusing her research on emerging technologies. She is currently an assistant professor at Michigan State University in the Advertising and Public Relations Department.

Her research focuses on the social and psychological effects of online sharing. She is also starting to explore perceptions of AI and how to increase the credibility of AI so that we can capitalize on their potential for societal benefits such as the automatic detection of problematic online content (i.e.: hate speech, suicidal ideation). She is glad to have a job that allows her to find the answers to the questions that intrigue her. She enjoys tangoing in her free time (pre-COVID).