Associate Professor John McAlaney is a Chartered Psychologist and Chartered Scientist, based within the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Science and Technology. He completed his PhD at the University of West of Scotland, where he explored the social-psychological factors associated with risky alcohol use. He has since expanded his research to include psychological determinants of other risk behaviours including gambling, digital addiction and cybersecurity. As part of this work he recently authored a briefing paper for the British Psychological Society that set out the position of the Society in the role of psychology in the development of cybersecurity capabilities in the UK. He has secured funding in the form of grants and several match-funded PhD studentships to further develop this area. John applies this research to real-world problems through his role as a Trustee of both the Gordon Moody Association; a residential service for problem gamblers and Acts Fast; a charity which supports protective parents and family members of children who have been sexually abused.

Marta E. Cecchinato is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer and Information Science at Northumbria University, working in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).

Before taking up this post, Marta has worked at the UCL Interaction Centre (UCLIC) and at Microsoft Research Cambridge, as well as at Helsinki University and HIIT (Helsinki Institute for Information Technology) in Finland. She has a BSc and MSc in Psychology from University of Padua (Italy) and a PhD in HCI at UCLIC.

Her research interests are around productivity and wellbeing in the digital age, ranging from how to manage information (e.g. storing and retrieving data), how to make sense of data (e.g. reflecting on data logs), how to cope with being constantly connected and available (e.g. managing emails, interruptions, and work-home boundaries) to how to support users who struggle in these areas (e.g. developing targeted interventions and digital strategies). Her current work focuses on understanding and promoting digital wellbeing in a range of contexts, including new forms work (e.g. gig economy).

Her work has published in top tier HCI conferences and has been featured in the New Scientist, The Conversation and The Psychologist.