Taliah Prince

Taliah Prince is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast's Thompson Institute, specializing in youth mental health and adolescent brain development. Her work focuses on the intersection of cyberbullying, body image, and neurological development in adolescent females. She contributes to teaching within the Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma programs in Mental Health and Neuroscience, and serves as a student experience mentor.

Dr. Prince's research interests center on understanding how appearance-related cyberbullying impacts adolescent mental health, with particular emphasis on body image disturbances, eating disorders, and associated neural mechanisms. Her work examines how exposure to body shaming online affects brain function, emotional regulation, and social cognition in teenage girls. She investigates the pathways through which cyberbullying leads to increased body dissatisfaction, desire for cosmetic procedures, and disordered eating behaviors.

Her publication record reveals a strong focus on the neurobiological underpinnings of body image-related cyberbullying, with multiple 2025 publications utilizing advanced neuroimaging techniques to document how adolescent brains respond to online body shaming. Her research demonstrates how cyberbullying activates brain regions associated with emotional pain and social threat, even when girls are merely witnessing body shaming directed at others.

• Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Full scholarship
• 3 Minute Thesis Winner (UniSC School of Health), Second place for UniSC competition
• Student of the Year Runner-up - local electorate 'Fisher Community Awards' (voted by local community members)

As a key member of the Thompson Institute's Longitudinal Adolescent Brain Study, Dr. Prince contributes to this world-leading project examining brain development and mental health during adolescence. Her PhD research investigated the psychological and neurobiological impacts of appearance-related cyberbullying on adolescent girls, with a focus on body image, social stress, and brain development. Her work has received significant media attention, including features on how body image bullying affects teenage girls' brains and how cyberbullying pushes girls toward cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Prince works within the Thompson Institute research environment, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams including neuroscientists, psychologists, and clinicians to advance understanding of adolescent mental health. Her research integrates neuroimaging, psychological assessment, and longitudinal tracking to develop comprehensive models of how online experiences shape adolescent brain development and mental wellbeing.