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.

Starting from March 2025, Sophie Mayen will be postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Public Health at USI. She will collaborate with Dr. Anne-Linda Camerini in the management of two SNF-funded projects AWARE and GIOCO. She will conduct complex analyses of longitudinal data collected in each project. Sophie's research interests revolve around media psychology, media effects, and health communication. During her doctoral studies at the Department of Communication at the University of Vienna, she explored 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.

Matilde Melotto is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Health at the Università della Svizzera italiana. She collaborates in the GIOCO project, 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. Following an internship at the Istituto di Psicosomatica Integrata in Milan, she 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, in association with the advent of digital media in everyday interpersonal relationships.

Giovanna Pedroni is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Health at the Università della Svizzera italiana. As a member of the GIOCO project, she investigates the role of various ludic activities (offline, hybrid, and online) in the cognitive and physical functioning of children and adolescents. In addition, she is responsible for the VIDEOGAME project, in which she evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of an educational program to promote a conscious and safe use of video games among elementary school children. Giovanna Pedroni previously 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. 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. 

Dora Weubel is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Public Health at the Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. She collaborates in the AWARE project, investigating the perceptions of mental health among adolescents and how they are associated with mental health portrayals on social media. She studied Applied Media and Communication Science (B.A.) at the TU Ilmenau and Communication in the Digital Societies (M.A.) at the University of Passau. Her research focuses on quantitative methods, digital media use and the social impact of communication technologies.

Alice Della Valle is a student in the Master in Health Communication at the Faculty of communication, culture and society at USI. She collaborates in the projects GIOCO and VIDEOGAME as a Student Assistant, supporting the research team in data collection, preliminary data analyses, and preparation of information material for schools and families.