Simone Driessen is an assistant professor in Media & Popular Culture in the Arts & Culture Department of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Before, she worked as a senior lecturer in the Media and Communication Department. As a researcher she is interested in topics at the intersection of media and popular culture. As a lecturer she is involved in several courses in the Arts & Culture program(s), and supervises theses.

In June 2017, Simone obtained her PhD from the Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture (ERMeCC). Her PhD-project examined the affordances of mainstream popular music in the everyday life of ageing audiences (e.g., exploring why fans remain fan of a band like boy band Backstreet Boys over time). In addition to researching why fans remain fans over time, Simone is currently examinig why fans discontinue their fandom (e.g. after a controversial moment or the cancellation of an artist). 

Furthermore, Simone is involved as a researcher in two Horizon projects  (Inspiring and Anchoring Trust in Science, and COALESCE, which works towards a European center on science communication) on science communication, particularly popular, digital science communication.