Laura Marciano
Research associate in the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Full biography
- Laura Marciano is a Research Associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston, MA, USA), in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness.
- She is the Principal Investigator of research projects on digital media and well-being. In particular, the HappyB project was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and HappyB2.0 by the National Institute of Health (NIH, USA). The projects aim to study the longitudinal link between smartphone use, social media, and well-being in teens, using cutting-edge research methods like trace data, ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), screenshot donation and a digital biomarker.
- She obtained her PhD in Health Communication (summa cum laude) at USI (Università della Svizzera italiana) in Lugano, Switzerland, with a dissertation focused on digital media use (problematic or addictive) and personality. Her PhD paper received the award as the best PhD dissertation in Social Sciences from the Italian Embassy in Bern.
- Previously, she studied Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan (Italy), where she graduated with top marks and honours.
- Dr Marciano also promotes science as a member of the Board of Directors of IBSA Foundation for scientific research, based in Lugano, Switzerland. She authored the book “Smartphone: Alleato o nemico?” (“Smartphone: Ally or enemy?”) as part of the Let's Science! collection.
- Other science communication activities include the SNSF-funded Happiness2.0 project, which aims to translate the results of the HappyB study into practical activities and events combining arts and science.