Faces of Reading

The two disorders demonstrate intriguing differences in music, language, emotion, pitch, memory and cognitive processing that may provide us with a unique opportunity for examining the underlying mechanisms of normal music and language functioning.

I'll be delivering a Year 3 optional module on "Music, language and the brain", engaging students with cutting-edge research and encouraging them to design new experiments.

I have a lot of support at Reading. My Head of School and colleagues are all very supportive and helpful. I can ask them for help and advice whenever needed.

I'm originally from China and did my PhD at the University of Chicago, where I studied the differences and similarities in speech prosody between Mandarin and English.

I then worked at Goldsmiths, University of London, Stanford University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and University College London as a postdoctoral researcher and at the University of Essex as a lecturer, before coming to Reading.

I really enjoy living in different countries, being exposed to different things and getting to know different people from different backgrounds. This has helped me develop both as a person and as a scientist.

From day one I found my colleagues welcoming and warm towards me. I have always had some great help and guidance whenever I have found any aspect of my role difficult or if I felt I am stuck. In fact, even though I was working in a temporary position, I was given equal opportunities to work on different projects and apply my knowledge and practical experience to my work. My line managers have been very supportive, and, on many occasions, I have been the lead for some projects as well, which boosted my morale and confidence.

My journey at Reading has now moved to the next phase. From being made permanent in my role, I have now been promoted and I am delighted to continue being a part of the University.

If you ask me how I would define the University of Reading, I will say it is one supportive and inclusive community of people from different cultures – and a world of opportunities to further your personality, skills and career. I look forward to continuing to work on exciting projects, meeting new people and learning something new every day; all being part of this wonderful family called the University of Reading.

My previous job was in retail so it was quite unsociable and involved long hours. My department gives you flexibility, you have to be in for core hours but you can come in early and then you're off again, it's fantastic.

Following the Professional and Administrative Services (PAS) review, I got the job here as Programme Administrator in August 2016. I work with a good group of people - we all bounce off each other, dig in and help each other out.

There is definitely a focus on staff development - I've recently finished the Springboard Women's Development Programme. My manager gave me the time to go on that course because it was important to me and being part of that cohort was really fulfilling.

I'm also an LGBTQIA+ Ally. I've always considered myself a diversity and LGBTQIA+ ally, mainly because I have a brother who is transgender, so it is something close to my heart. As soon as I heard about the Ally programme, I was very keen to be part of it.

I've always felt that I should be a good citizen. We all have our specific roles and job descriptions, but if you stick to just that, life becomes pretty boring. So I have many roles. I coordinate international collaboration and engagement in my Department, which gives me the opportunity to travel and meet people from all over the world, I'm the Warden of Windsor Hall and I'm a Harassment Advisor. I always wanted to do more than just the 9-5.

My suggestion to colleagues would be to get involved. It's not just about teaching and research here. There's lots happening at the University, and you can have an enriching and fulfilling career with good social interaction as well. We have colleagues and students from all over the world, so you can meet all kinds of people, and the experience is very satisfying. This is an enlightened place to work.

Read more about the University's harassment reporting and support.