David Lydon-Staley

David Lydon-Staley is an Associate Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as Principal Investigator of the Addiction, Health, & Adolescence (AHA!) Lab. His research integrates neuroscience with communication science to examine substance use, media effects, and curiosity using fMRI, ecological momentary assessment, and network analysis.

Education includes a Ph.D. in Human Development & Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. from Penn State, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Drexel University (2025), and a B.A. in Psychology and English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.

Research focuses on three interconnected areas: curiosity in media environments and health communication, media engagement in emotion dynamics, and substance use through dynamic network perspectives. Work emphasizes intensive longitudinal measurement of brain-behavior interactions during daily life.

Recent publications (2023-2025) predominantly explore tobacco behavior, neural mechanisms of addiction, curiosity modulation, and social media's emotional impacts. Articles demonstrate consistent themes: fMRI analysis of inhibitory control, real-time geospatial tracking of smoking triggers, curiosity-based health messaging, and emotion regulation networks.

Research has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Jacobs Foundation, International Society for Behavioral Development, Center for Curiosity, and Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.

Leads the Addiction, Health, & Adolescence (AHA!) Lab investigating substance use through network science approaches. Collaborates with the Complex Systems Lab at Penn's Department of Bioengineering.