Dr Shiyu (Celia) He
I am a postdoctoral researcher in psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology, working in the field of eye movements during reading. My research focuses on the real-time dynamics of reading, examining how eye movements reflect the moment-by-moment allocation of attention and processing as written language unfolds. A central theme of my work is understanding how linguistic experience, proficiency, and exposure shape individual differences in eye-movement behaviour during reading, particularly across languages and writing systems.
I am currently an ESRC-funded Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, working with Prof. Kathy Rastle and the Rastle Lab Literacy, Language, Learning on projects investigating visual word recognition and reading behaviour across languages and orthographies. The project is co-led by Professor Denis Drieghe and Dr Sami Boudelaa.Alongside this role, I have extensive experience in experimental design, eye-tracking methodology, advanced quantitative data analysis, and research methods training.
Research interests
My research lies at the intersection of psycholinguistics, vision science, and cognitive psychology, with a primary focus on eye movements during reading. I am interested in how reading unfolds over time and how the temporal dynamics of eye movements are shaped by linguistic structure, experience, and individual variation.
A defining feature of my work is its comparative and cross-linguistic perspective. I have studied reading across typologically diverse languages and scripts, including Chinese, English, Arabic, Estonian, Russian, Polish, Punjabi, and Medieval Spanish, using cross-linguistic variation as a tool to investigate how the human reading system adapts to different structural and experiential constraints.
Specific research interests include:
- Eye-movement control and temporal dynamics during reading
- Visual word recognition in continuous text
- Parafoveal and foveal processing during reading
- First- and second-language reading
- Individual differences in eye-movement behaviour
- Cross-linguistic and cross-script comparisons in reading
- Experimental and quantitative approaches to modelling reading processes
Education
PhD in Psycholinguistics
University of Birmingham
MA in Translation Studies
Durham University
Master of Translation and Interpretation (MTI) / BA in Psychology & Linguistics
Central China Normal University
Methods and expertise
I work primarily with experimental and quantitative approaches, including:
- Eye-movement recording and analysis during reading across laboratory and online settings (EyeLink systems; Tobii Pro, Tobii Fusion, Tobii Glasses; Gazepoint portable eye trackers; online eye-tracking methods)
- Experimental design in PsychoPy, Gorilla, OpenSesame, and Qualtrics
- Statistical modelling in R (mixed-effects models, generalized additive mixed models, principal component analysis, clustering)
- Data visualisation and reproducible research workflows
Teaching and academic service
I have taught and supported a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in psychology and linguistics, with particular emphasis on research methods, experimental design, and quantitative data analysis. I also regularly deliver workshops and technical training on eye-tracking methodology, experimental software, and data analysis for students and researchers.
Contact
The best way to reach me is via email.
You can also find my publications and academic profiles via the links in the sidebar.