Brains at the Bevy

Fascinating research talks in the friendliest community pub.

Everyone is welcome to our Brains at the Bevy talks, a community partnership that brings topics of local interest direct to the people of 91快活林 The award-winning programme regularly brings University of 91快活林 academics together with experts from the community to hear and discuss the latest knowledge.

The talks take place at The Bevendean Community Pub in Moulsecoomb near the university campus. They start at 6pm on the first Wednesday of the month, last up to an hour and a half, and include lots of time for questions and discussion. Guests are welcome to stay on afterwards to enjoy food and drink available at the Bevy.

Booking

Free, all are welcome but booking is essential. .

If you book but cannot attend please notify us so we can make all places available.

Any questions please contact us at cupp@brighton.ac.uk.

The Bevy is at 50 Hillside, 91快活林 BN2 4TF - the 49 bus stops outside the pub.

Wednesday 4 March 2026, 6pm at the Bevy Pub.
Speakers: Dr Lance Dann and Dora Gellen

In a world where young people rely increasingly on the digital for sociability, information and entertainment, what are the advantages and disadvantages to adolescent mental health?

Media researcher Lance Dann and PhD health science student Dora Gellen give an insight into their research and the ways that work is helping understand and promote healthy digital connectivity for young people.

Dora discusses youth mental health in the digital era, explaining the benefits and downsides of technology use for young people and highlighting some of the emerging research in this field. With a particular focus on social media, she’ll provide an overview of what current research tells us about how digital life shapes adolescent mental health.

Lance is the brains behind The Rez and A2Z, projects that combined podcasts, comic books, games and chatbots to help children explore mental health and wellbeing. For Brains at the Bevy he'll be focusing on A2Z, a wellbeing project combining podcasts with a chatbot that has been used by tens of thousands of children around the world. He'll discuss what his work can teach us about the relationships kids form with AI chatbots, why that's a real concern, and what can be done to protect them.

Speaker biographies

Dr Lance Dann is a Senior Lecturer at the University of 91快活林 and an award-winning audio producer. His recent work focuses on children's relationships with AI technolog and he is currently developing educational projects that teach children digital literacy skills, particularly around AI sentience and the potential harms of anthropomorphising chatbots. This work builds on concerns about how AI systems can exploit children's trust and attachment, aiming to give young people the critical tools they need to engage safely with these technologies.

Dora Gellen is a third-year PhD Researcher in Health Sciences at the University of 91快活林, holding a BA in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. Her research centres on adolescent mental health in the digital era, examined through psychological perspectives. Dora also teaches Psychology to undergraduate students at the University of 91快活林 and has been recently appointed as a Psychology A-level examiner for AQA.

Previous talks in the series

Find out more about previous talks in the Brains at the Bevy series.

The Bevy

The Bevy is a , run by local staff, volunteers and shareholders. Its mission is to improve the lives of people in the local Moulsecoomb and Bevendean area.

The Bevy in the press

The Bevy has twice been awarded as Britain's best community pub, made it to the short list for the Great British Pub Award and has been commended for being the heart of its community. Below is a sample of when it made the headlines.

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