Avery Salerno

I am a research specialist with the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT) in the Department of Pediatrics. With the mentorship of our PI Dr. Megan Moreno, I contribute to quantitative and qualitative research projects related to adolescents’ experiences with social media. In a world where adolescents use technology often and for a variety of purposes, I am interested in how we can increase the benefits and decrease the risks of social media use for adolescents. I am also part of the research team for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. The Center of Excellence has a Q&A web portal for the public to ask questions about social media and youth mental health. My role is to conduct literature reviews to help provide evidence-based answers to our Q&A questions. The Q&A portal allows our research team to disseminate relevant social media research to non-researcher audiences who have direct interactions with youth in educational, clinical, and family settings.