Tong Zhao

Profile

Tong Zhao is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Linguistics whose research interests encompass multimodal discourse, emoji usage across diverse contexts, and sociolinguistics. Employing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, her current research examines the role of emoji usage in online text-based counseling within the unique socio-political environment of contemporary China. 

Supervisors - Dr Agneiszka Lyons and Professor Isabella Mareschal  

Research

Research Interests:

Discourse and Conversation Analysis  

Multimodal communication   

Social semiotics  

Embodiment  

Publications

Qiu, H., Zhao, T., Li, A., Zhang, S., He, H. and Lan, Z., 2023, October. A benchmark for understanding dialogue safety in mental health support. In CCF International Conference on Natural Language Processing and Chinese Computing (pp. 1-13). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. 

Ma, L., Zhao, T., Qiu, H. and Lan, Z., 2024. No General Code of Ethics for All: Ethical Considerations in Human-bot Psycho-counseling. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.14070. 

Public Engagement

Prior to joining Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), she gained extensive experience in the AI industry, working in both China and the United States, including roles at UPMC Enterprises and Apple. Leveraging her interdisciplinary mindset, she utilized her expertise in linguistics to support teams in developing machine learning models across various domains. 

In addition to her academic and professional achievements, she is actively involved in organizing events for postgraduate students. As the Activity Secretary for the Postgraduate Student Committee of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (LAGBPSC), she spearheaded career-focused events that bridged the gap between linguistics and industry. These initiatives connected linguists with professionals in non-academic sectors, providing valuable insights for students seeking opportunities beyond academia.