Meet the Team
Dr Amy Orben
Programme Leader Track Scientist
My work focuses on how digital technologies such as social media impact mental health. I am particularly interested in the potential cognitive, biological or social mechanisms that underlie this link, and the influence of individual differences.
amy.orben[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Dr Amanda Ferguson
Postdoctoral Research Associate
I study how adolescents use and make sense of social media.
amanda.ferguson[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Dr Sebastian Kurten
Postdoctoral Research Associate
I use complex survey data to investigate media effects on wellbeing.
sebastian.kurten[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Luisa Fassi
MRC-DTP PhD student, co-supervised by Prof Tamsin Ford
My research examines the relationship between social media use and different mental health conditions during youth.
luisa.fassi[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Georgia Turner
MRC-DTP PhD student
I apply methods from computational neuroscience to understand the drivers, effects and cognitive mechanisms of social media use.
georgia.turner[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Lukas Gunschera
PhD student
My research examines cognitive risk and protective factors of social media use and mental health.
lukas.gunschera[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Amira Skeggs
PhD student
I’m interested in developing social media interventions to improve young people’s mental health.
amira.skeggs[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Aslihan Baser
Part-time Research Assistant
I work on how social media influences adolescents’ identity development.
aslihan.baser[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Matthew Richards
Full-time Research Assistant
I use computational and statistical methods to understand the impact of social media on mental health.
matthew.richards[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Amelia Leyland-Craggs
Full-time Research Assistant
I work on youth engagement and co-creation within our projects. I'm interested in mental health inequalities and social media as a risk or protective factor.
amelia.leyland-craggs[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Valerie Yap
Full-time Research Assistant
I explore social uncertainty in online social environments and work on youth engagement projects.
valerie.yap[at]mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
You?
Postdoctoral Fellow/PhD Student/Visiting Student
We are always looking for talented and innovative researchers to join our group. If you are interested, please contact us.
Past members
Dr Sakshi Ghai: PhD student (graduated 2023)
Tom Metherell: Summer Research Assistant, funded by the British Psychological Society (2021)
Tara Bhagat: Summer Research Assistant, funded by the G. C. Grindley Fund (2021)
Faisal Awadh: SSC Research Assistant, as part of the Medical Sciences Tripos (2020/2021)
Nicole Guo: Research Intern (2020/2021)
Zoe Rossall: Research Intern (2020/2021)