Postdoctoral Research Associates and Scholars in Residence

Dr Sha Zhou obtained her PhD in Contemporary British History from King’s College London in 2021, with a thesis on the migration of ethnic Chinese women to post-war Britain. Most recently, she worked at the School of International Studies/Academy of Overseas Chinese Studies at Jinan University, where she grew an interest in everyday political activities of the Chinese in Britain.

Sha’s research lies primarily in women in international migration, race and ethnic minorities in modern Britain, and the history of Chinese migration and diaspora, using mainly archival records and oral histories. Her work at MCI looks at state intervention in its domestic Chinese population and community responses in twentieth-century urban Britain.

Tao’s ongoing work centres on political representation in Taiwan and cross-Strait relations.

[September 2024 – Present] Linghui mainly studies modern and contemporary Chinese history & medical and social history. His new book is 'The Bacteriology Theory and Epidemic Prevention in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China '(Chengdu: Sichuan renmin chubanshe, 2023). In recent years, the object of research has changed from knowledge to system, and the research has been carried out around the National Health Administration of Nanjing National Government. As an MCI visiting scholar, Linghui focuses on the history of the research, development, and promotion of biological products in modern China.

[September 2024 – Present] Yingtao’s research interests span Critical Security Studies, Science and Technology Studies, and Digital International Relations. Her PhD project focuses on Chinese tech giants’ roles in global governance.

[November 2023 – Present] As part of an AHRC-funded project, Yuting investigates influential texts and actors on social media model climate change futures through cultural lenses. Her PhD research at the University of Manchester looked at how different communities (re)construct and communicate the concept of climate change and climate actions in the Chinese context. Her research interests include climate change communication, science communication, and East Asian science, technology, and society (STS) studies.

[October 2023 – Present] Mark Czellér holds a Past & Present Fellowship (2022-24) at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London. He completed his doctorate in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. His doctoral thesis, which he is revising for publication as a monograph, is titled 'Non-People in the People’s Republic: Landlords and Rich Peasants under Maoist State Socialism’, and is a political, cultural, and social history of the largest group of people treated as 'class enemies' by the Maoist state.

[April 2023 – Present] Weiwei Chen is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the School of Social Sciences and Global Studies at Open University. She leads a subproject within the REDEFINE project, funded by the European Research Council, designed to understand the driving forces, modalities, and impacts of Chinese investments in Europe. In addition, As an MCI visiting scholar, Weiwei conducts research on Chinese engagements in Manchester, including the sister city relationship between Manchester and Wuhan.

[March 2020 - Present] Nicholas McGee researches nineteenth-century conflict between the Qing and British empires over Chinese migration flows.