Huo Family Foundation Launches Major Investment in Research Programme on the Impact of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Young People

The Huo Family Foundation is delighted to announce its plan for a major investment in a new research initiative focused on understanding the impact of digital technology on brain development, on social interactions and behaviours, and on mental health in young people. This programme aims to support the best scientific research in this domain as well as to train the next generation of exceptional scientists in this rapidly evolving field.

Dr. Gary Wilson, former Head of the Science Portfolio at the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, has been appointed as the Director of Research. He will work closely with Professor Paul Elliott from Imperial College London, who is overseeing the programme, independently, in an advisory role through Imperial College Consultants.

Dr. Wilson holds a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London.  Having worked at Wellcome and the Gatsby Foundation over the past two decades, he brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to this initiative. Dr. Wilson says “I am thrilled to join HFF at this exciting time when it is ramping up its funding of scientific research. I look forward to developing the funding strategy for this priority area and to delivering the first round of grant funding over the coming year.”

Professor Paul Elliott is Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine within Imperial’s School of Public Health. He is also Director of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health, the UK Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU) and the REACT community surveillance study of COVID-19 across England.  Professor Elliott was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 2024. Professor Elliott says “The rapid advances in digital technology affect all of our lives but the effects on health and wellbeing are poorly understood. I am delighted to be working with HFF to help develop this exciting new research initiative addressing this important issue in young people“.

Together, Professor Elliott and Dr. Wilson will spearhead efforts to advance our understanding of how digital technologies influence the developing brains of young people and their social interactions and their mental health, and to develop and foster a cadre of researchers dedicated to this critical and timely area of study.

Details of the grant programme will be available in early 2025.