Yajing is an interdisciplinary researcher passionately dedicated to fostering understanding between diverse groups and systems. Her aim is to enhance communication and promote mutual development.

With a strong background in education and psychology, coupled with 15 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions in the financial industry, Yajing has gained profound insights into the economic motivations and human mechanisms underlying social and economic activities. She believes that diversity makes human society fascinating, and views social science research as an essential pathway to understanding this diversity.

In her PhD research, Yajing aims to explore how digital health (re)shapes the health-seeking behaviours and social networks of ethnic minorities in the UK. Different communities living in the same country often hold diverse health philosophies. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced among ethnic minorities due to the varying influences of the health systems and traditions in their countries of origin. Unfortunately, the host country typically overlooks this diversity, assuming a universal understanding of health concepts. Digital health, which has evolved rapidly in the Covid and post-Covid years, has become an integral part of healthcare practice. Yajing aims to uncover how digital health influences the health-seeking behaviours of ethnic minorities with different health philosophies and to understand the impact of digital health on their lives. Focusing on Chinese communities within the UK – a group that traditionally has medical philosophies distinct from biomedicine – Yajing will invite participants from various regions of the UK to share their experiences and reflections.

Yajing’s PhD research is supervised by Dr Lewis Husain and Dr Inka Barnett.