MiNT Laboratory Director

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Dr. Ye Shen

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I am the director of the MiNT Laboratory. I currently work as an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the Johns Hopkins University. Before that, I was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida and Dean's Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow at The Ohio State University. When I am not writing papers, I love to spend time with my family and play with my big camera.

As a globally oriented scholar, I conduct rigorous empirical research with the goal of influencing policy and informing language teaching and learning in diverse educational and community contexts. Through quantitative studies utilizing behavioral and neuroimaging measures, I aim to understand the complex and multifaceted processes underlying multilingual language, school readiness, and academic development. I am particularly interested in exploring how children’s linguistic, cognitive, and environmental factors interactively shape their trajectories as multilinguals. My research has been funded by American Educational Research Association, National Science Foundation, American Psychological Association, and Language Learning Journal.

My work has been published in leading academic journals across education and psychology, including Review of Educational Research, Journal of Educational Psychology, Learning and Individual Differences, and Contemporary Educational Psychology. I have received numerous early career awards, including the Rebecca L. Sandak Award from the Society for the Scientific Studies of Reading. I am also acknowledged as an Early Career Interdisciplinary Scholar by the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) and Editorial Fellow at the Journal of Educational Psychology.

I graduated from the University of Delaware with a Ph.D. in Education in 2022. I hold a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a bachelor’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in China. Prior to pursuing my academic career, I worked as an elementary school Chinese immersion teacher in Delaware.

I am always happy to discuss science and collaborate with people. Feel free to contact me!

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Also see: **Google Scholar | LinkedIn**

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Lab Manager

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Nick Merdon

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Nick Merdon is a master's student, studying Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Music Composition from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2025. His research interests include clinical and social psychology, with a focus on how learning and life experiences contribute to the formation of schemas and their influence on one's worldview. As a member of the MiNT Lab, Nick is interested in learning how linguistic factors shape cognitive learning processes across languages.

Ph.D. Students

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Zihan Zheng

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Zihan Zheng earned her M.S.Ed. in International Teaching and Global Leadership with a focus on Creative and Innovative Education from Johns Hopkins University and her B.A. in Psychological Sciences with a minor in Education Science from the University of California, Irvine. Her academic background bridges psychology, education, and research, focusing on how learning environments influence students' social-emotional development, self-concept, and sense of belonging. Her research interests include gifted education, bilingualism, and mental health in educational contexts. Within the MiNT Lab, she looks forward to engaging in projects that explore multilingual children's cognitive and emotional development and contribute to evidence-based practices supporting diverse learners.

Graduate Research Assistants

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Yi Gao

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Yi Gao is a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education with interests in early childhood development, education entrepreneurship, educational research, and global learning. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Drew University and a Master’s degree in Business Management from the New York Institute of Technology. Before joining Johns Hopkins, she gained experience in international education and policy-related work through UNESCO INRULED, where she supported projects related to rural education and SDG 4. She has also worked in early learning environments and hopes to combine research, creativity, and global perspectives to make a meaningful impact in education.

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Li Li

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Li Li is pursuing her M.S.Ed. in International Teaching and Global Leadership with a focus on Applied Research at the Johns Hopkins University and her B.A. in Psychology from Auburn University. With a strong grounding in developmental and educational psychology, she is particularly interested in children’s social-emotional development, early learning experiences, and the ways supportive environments shape confidence and well-being. Her research interests center on multilingual learners, reading development, and the emotional and cognitive factors that influence how children make sense of language. In the MiNT Lab, she is currently contributing to the project “Unraveling the Influence of Chinese Character Writing versus Pinyin Typing on Word Reading for Chinese Heritage Language Learners,” and she hopes to continue work that helps young learners feel understood, supported, and empowered in their educational journeys.

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Iva Tsang

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Iva Tsang is a master’s student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Johns Hopkins University. She earned her B.Soc.Sc. in Psychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include mental health, human development, multilingualism, and the cognitive and social-emotional processes underlying learning. Through the MiNT Lab, she hopes to explore how multilingual and cultural experiences shape children’s social-emotional development and inform practices that support diverse learners.