Peter J. Schulz is Professor for Communication Theories and Health Communication at the Faculty of Communication Sciences and Director of the Institute of Communication and Health at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). He currently holds several research project grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, among them one for a doctoral school for Communication & Health, and other funding bodies (including among others, King´s Fund, UK, CancerBackup, UK and EU) in the area of health communication. Prior to his collaboration within the USI, he studied at the University of Frankfurt, Münster, Cracow, Freibourg in Breisgau and Eichstätt. His recent research and publications have focused on consumer health literacy and empowerment, argumentation in health communications, and cultural factors in health. He is author of more than 60 scientific journal articles and has published 9 books. His latest publication is Theories of Communication Sciences (four volumes, Sage, London, 2010). He is also editor, in collaboration with Paul Cobley (London), of Handbooks of Communication Sciences (22 volumes, Mouton & De Gruyter). Since 2010 he has been Associate Editor of the journal Patient Education & Counseling (Elsevier). Furthermore, he has been part of the editorial and advisory board of various international scientific journals. Together with 'Vish' Viswanath, Harvard University, he is editor of the Encyclopedia of Health Communication (Blackwell). He is a member of numerous national and international commissions at research institutions. Since October 2011 he is also a member of the Swiss National Science Foundation.