Dr Dawn Branley-Bell

Associate Professor

School: Psychology

Dr Dawn Branley-Bell is an Associate Professor of Cyberpsychology, a chartered psychologist and Past Chair of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Cyberpsychology Section. She directs the Psychology and Communication Technology Lab (PaCT Lab) at Northumbria University – one of few university-based dedicated cyberpsychology research and training facilities in the UK – and leads the Research into Health Technologies for Eating Distress (RHED) research group.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Dr Branley-Bell specialises in digital health and wellbeing, including remote healthcare support. She held a Medical Research Foundation fellowship exploring Remote Healthcare for Eating Disorders and is currently leading the Evidence into National Action for remote Care Transformation in Eating Disorders project (ENACT-ED) addressing the need for national policy for remote eating disorder care in the UK.

<p>Dr Branley-Bell is also interested in the impacts of social media. As a former fellow of the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, Washington DC, she worked with data from the Library’s Twitter archive to investigate online communication around self-harm and eating disorders. More recently she has been exploring the impact of social media algorithms on the presentation of body-image related content.

<p>More widely, Dr Branley-Bell's research includes explainable AI and cybersecurity, and she is co-investigator on the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Citizen-Centred Artificial Intelligence.

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Algorithmic Exposure to Body Image Content on TikTok: A Mixed-Methods International Study with Implications for Mental Health and Platform Accountability, Branley-Bell, D., Murphy-Morgan, C., Moore, L. 20 Mar 2026, 11th International Digital Public Health Conference (DPH) 2026, Frontiers
A Novel Image-Based Algorithm to Support Future Remote Assessment of Chewing Function, Branley-Bell, D., Brown, R., Obreque Sepulveda, E., McGrogan, C., Cartner, H., Mohamed, E., Ang, C., Pellegrino, R. 3 Sep 2026, In: Frontiers in Dental Medicine
Eating Disorder and Body Image Content, Branley-Bell, D. 7 Jul 2026, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cyberpsychology, Cham, Palgrave Macmillan
Effects of Childhood Trauma and Perfectionism on Stress, Mood, Defeat and Entrapment, O'Connor, D., Branley-Bell, D., Ferguson, E., Green, J., O'Connor, R. 4 May 2026, In: European Journal of Personality
Food Insecurity and Eating Distress in the North East of England: A Pilot Research Programme - Summary Report, Branley-Bell, D., Murphy-Morgan, C., Nunn, V., Fry, A., Scrase, J., Godfrey-Harrison, T., Zhang, V., Giles, E., Smith, J., Day, P. 11 Jun 2026
Remote Healthcare and Monitoring, Branley-Bell, D., Murphy-Morgan, C. 29 Jul 2026, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cyberpsychology, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cyberpsychology, Fullwood, C., Branley-Bell, D., Orchard, L., Limniou, M., Stefanova, V. 6 Jan 2026
‘You’re a 4 out of 10’: the troubling rise of AI appearance ratings, Branley-Bell, D. 10 Aug 2026
AcademAI: Investigating AI Usage, Attitudes, and Literacy in Higher Education and Research, Brown, R., Sillence, E., Branley-Bell, D. 1 Sep 2025, In: Journal of Educational Technology Systems
A Call for Strategy on Eating Disorders: The Need for a Comprehensive Eating Disorder Strategy in England and Specific Guidance for the Remote Delivery of Eating Disorder Services., Brown, R., Murphy-Morgan, C., Downs , J., Branley-Bell, D. 27 Mar 2025, In: Journal of Eating Disorders

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Examination: External Examiner: BA Psychology and Computing Programme (University College Cork) 2026
Oral presentation: Algorithmic Exposure to Body Image Content on TikTok: A Mixed-Methods International Study with Implications for Mental Health and Platform Accountability 2026
Oral presentation: TikTok's Algorithm and Eating Disorder Content: User Exposure, Impact, and Coping Strategies 2026
Examination: Viva Examination (External Examiner): UCL 2026
Invited talk: Invited Guest Lecture: Body Image, Disordered Eating & The Internet 2025
Invited talk: Keynote speaker: BPS South West of England Branch "Education in the Age of AI" event 2025
Examination: Viva Examination (External Examiner) - Teesside University 2025
Examination: External Examiner: BA Psychology and Computing Programme (University College Cork) 2025
Invited talk: Expert Panellist: Ethical Research in Cyberpsychology, BPS Cyberpsychology Conference 2025
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: British Psychological Society (BPS) Cyberpsychology Conference 2025

PGR Supervision

Thomas O'Fee Understanding Psyber-risk: Drivers of cyber-risk perception for AI mental health chatbots and implications for adoption Start Date: 01/10/2025

Qualifications