Youth Well Lab
We are a research team at the University of Sydney.
MISSION
Our mission is to use digital technology to support the health and well-being of adolescents (10–24 years). We aim to prevent chronic diseases, like heart disease, early in life and help build healthier communities for young people today and for future generations.
OUR WORK
We work closely with young people, involving them in every step of our research and decision-making. We also collaborate with experts from many different fields to co-design innovative, evidence-based solutions.
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DIGITAL HEALTH INNOVATION
Led by
Dr Rebecca Raeside
FOOD
ENVIRONMENTS
Led by
Dr Sisi Jia
YOUTH
ENGAGEMENT
Led by
Allyson Todd
RESEARCH
Led by Associate Professor Stephanie Partridge, the Youth Well Lab is all about working with young people to create healthier futures — both now and for the next generation through innovative, evidence-based solutions.
Our research focuses on three key areas:
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Adolescent obesity in the digital age: navigating risks and opportunities.
2026
[COMMISSIONED] Partridge SR, Todd AR, Redfern J, Dogra S, Wang E, Akinsanya BT, Raeside R*, Jia S* (*Equal contribution)
Our commissioned review in The Lancet Digital Health, led by A/Prof Stephanie Partridge, examines how digital environments shape adolescent obesity, and the risks and opportunities they create for prevention.
The public health challenges of children's and adolescents' digital media use: applying the digital determinants of health as an interpretive framework.
2026
^Holly L, Raeside R, Morton A, Shi J, Padmapriya N, Müller-Riemenschneider F; Digital Determinants of Health Youth Advisory Group.
Our review in The Lancet, co-authored by Dr Rebecca Raeside with a youth advisory group, applies the digital determinants of health as a framework for understanding the public health challenges of children's and adolescents' digital media use.
Digital chameleons of the food environment: an exploratory analysis of the shapeshifting nature of dark kitchens in Australia and their regulatory challenges.
2026
Jia S, Brown H, Moore HJ, Lake AA, Gibson AA, Partridge SR.
Our study in BMC Public Health, led by Dr Sisi Jia, explores how dark kitchens in Australia shift their identities across delivery platforms, and the regulatory challenges this creates for healthy food environments.
Building adolescent research capacity: The co-creation of the Health Hive digital training platform.
2026
^Todd AR, Wardak S, Connor K, Soo E, Mautner D, Wang E, Wardak D, Raeside R, Dharmayani PNA, Singleton AC, Chau JY, Thornton LK, Mihrshahi S, Partridge SR & The Health Hive Team.
Our paper in Health Expectations, led by Allyson Todd and co-authored with young people, describes how the Health Hive digital training platform was co-created to build adolescents' capacity to take part in health research.
