Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People

Background and motivation 

A long-standing interest of HFF has been the effect and impact of usage of digital technology on young people. The rapid rise and use of this technology has permeated much of society and transformed the way many humans interact.

There has been a broad array of research efforts that mostly have involved relatively crude measures of the amount of usage of digital technology (e.g. total screen time) and the observed effects and impact on health. Despite these efforts, the full implications – both positive and negative – on human physiology, psychology, behaviour, well-being and mental health remain unclear.   

We believe there is an opportunity to help advance the research and the field of knowledge in this area, both by strengthening existing as well as creating new methods and approaches to better model and unpick the complexities of this topic.

HFF is establishing a research portfolio on the Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People. This is our second annual call.

Funding opportunity

The Huo Family Foundation invites applications for junior faculty research grants to support early-career researchers to develop further their own research vision and help establish a research group. These grants are to support new lecturers/assistant professors at the start of their careers to foster their independence and gain experience of managing and leading research projects and teams.

Proposals should be tackling key questions within the broad topic of the effects of usage of and exposure to digital technologies on brain development and function (including physiological responses), social behaviour and interactions, and the well-being and mental health of children and young people.

Awarded research grants in this area can be held at degree-awarding colleges and universities in the UK and in the US. We are keen to support multi-disciplinary work. We also want to train the next generation of exceptional scientists in this rapidly evolving field.  Information on the awardees from the inaugural call in 2025 can be found here. 

Scientific remit, definitions, expectations and examples of research we want to support

Please see the extended guidance here. We highly recommend following these guidelines.

Work that is out scope

• We will not support the establishment of new population (epidemiological) cohorts.
• We will not consider applications that look at the development and/or deployment of digital technology (to include, but not limited to, web-based programmes, mobile applications, applications of generative AI, chatbots, extended reality, wearable devices or video games) to deliver treatment for mental health problems.
• We will not consider applications that look at the development and/or deployment of digital technology to deliver educational learning.
• Proposals including randomised controlled trials or similar methodologies should not include the testing of drugs, medical treatments, medical/healthcare/well-being devices, diagnostic procedures, or apps for a mental health intervention.
• We will not consider applications on clinical service provision/reorganisation.
• Studies should not include work involving animals.
• We will not support systematic reviews.

Eligibility

• The applicant must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant field, which may include but is not limited to neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, computer science, social science, economics.
• The applicant should be a new lecturer/assistant professor at degree-awarding colleges and universities in the UK or the US. Your appointment should be permanent, open-ended, or on a long-term rolling basis, or a tenure-track position; if your institution has both academic and research fellow tracks, they are considered equivalent.
• The salary of the applicant must be covered by their respective employing organisation(s) for the duration of the award.
• Your employing college or university should have an appropriate charitable or tax-exempt status. Researchers based at hospitals or research institutes must apply via their affiliated university.
• The applicant must have started their junior faculty position in January 2023 or later i.e. at the time of award be within four years of taking up their permanent/tenure-track position. Allowances will be made for part-time work, career breaks (for example, parental leave or long-term sickness) and other significant amounts of time spent outside research (for example, clinical training); if you started your position before January 2023 and would like to discuss an allowance, please contact science@huofamilyfoundation.org.
• Co-applicants are NOT possible on this application.
• Collaborators can be included in this application and award (please see the next section for details on collaborators).
• Resubmissions are possible. If you have previously applied for a Junior Faculty Research Grant, you can submit another application if you still meet all the eligibility criteria. In the new application, you will need to provide details on how the new submission is significantly different to and/or addresses reviewers’ concerns on your previous application.