Team

Anne-Linda Camerini is Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Institute of Public Health (IPH), USI Lugano. She holds a Master degree in media studies and a PhD in health communication. Her research includes studies on the role of digital media in the development and well-being of children and adolescents, using innovative methods for data collection and analysis. Her projects are mainly funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and are carried out in collaboration with the cantonal education administration (DECS) and other partners in Ticino.

Matilde Melotto is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Health at the Università della Svizzera italiana. Starting from March 2024, she has been working on the OHOPlay project (ital. GIOCO), investigating the role of different play activities (offline, hybrid, and online) in the socio-emotional development of children and adolescents. Matilde pursued her early undergraduate studies at the Università degli Studi di Torino where she graduated with honors in Psychological Sciences and Techniques. She then pursued her master's studies at the Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan and the Università della Svizzera italiana, completing with honors a double degree in Cognitive Psychology in Health Communication. At the end of her studies, Matilde attended an internship at the Istituto di Psicosomatica Integrata in Milan, applying her psychological knowledge in the concrete of clinical practice. In December 2023, she then received her license as a psychologist by passing the State Examination. Her main research interests revolve around understanding the influence of early attachment relationships on the psycho-emotional development of children and adolescents, also, and most importantly, in association with the advent of digital media in everyday interpersonal relationships.

Starting in July 2024, Giovanna Pedroni will be a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Health at the Università della Svizzera italiana, as part of the project GIOCO, investigating the role of various ludic activities (offline, hybrid, and online) in the cognitive and physical functioning of children and adolescents. The project also aims to provide important recommendations on which form of play is best to adopt to promote good cognitive and physical functioning and the overall health of young people. Giovanna Pedroni studied Health Sciences and Technologies at the Polytechnic of Zurich, specializing in Public Health. Subsequently, she completed a research internship and her Master's thesis at the Institute of Public Health at USI, supervised by Dr. Camerini. She then continued working at the Institute of Public Health on two projects aimed at the prevention of brain concussions among young people and adolescents practicing sports. Her main research interests lie in health prevention and promotion, particularly in young people, and how lasting improvements can be achieved through close collaboration between science and politics. 

From March to June 2024, Sophie Mayen, a research associate (predoc) at the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna, will be a visiting researcher at the Institute of Public Health at USI. Under the supervision of Dr Anne-Linda Camerini, Sophie will conduct secondary data analyses with data collected within the MEDIATICINO project, investigating the interplay of parental mediation and mental health among youth. Sophie's research interests revolve around media psychology, media effects, and health communication. Her current dissertation explores the links between digital media use, well-being, and students' academic performance. In addition, Sophie specializes in modelling multilevel data to uncover how short-term effects in situational media use contexts shape individual differences.