About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of Management at Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky. My research aims to clarify the microfoundations of dynamic social processes at work, offering actionable insights for individuals, teams, and organizations seeking to translate network knowledge into competitive advantages.

Specifically, I study how workplace networks are shaped by organizational structure and individual agency, and how those relationship patterns impact performance, equality, and innovation. I advance this agenda through three streams. First, I examine how individual attributes, structural arrangements, and situational shocks jointly drive the evolution of actual and perceived networks, and the affective, cognitive, and behavioral mechanisms through which these dynamics produce work outcomes. For example, how do assignments to projects that vary in complexity or status create differential opportunities to develop human and social capital that subsequently impact socialization, performance, and career advancement?

Second, I explore how inequality arises and manifests in both actual and perceived networks and identify levers that reduce it. For example, how and why are women’s social relationship patterns perceived and interpreted in systematically disadvantageous ways, and what consequences ensue? Third, I investigate how networks create opportunities and constraints for innovation and specify the conditions that amplify benefits while mitigating costs. For example, how do individuals mobilize specific network ties to refine creative ideas and move them from concept to impact? Across these streams, I combine multi-wave field studies, advanced network-analytic techniques, and mechanism-focused experiments to bolster my findings. As this program matures, I will co-develop evidence-based interventions with field partners to cultivate workplaces where employees thrive, teams perform, and innovation flourishes.

I earned my Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy in 2024. I received my M.S. in Public Administration and Government from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Peking University Double Degree Program in 2016. I earned my B.S. in Bioengineering from Peking University in 2014, with a minor in International Relations. Prior to joining Heinz, I worked in Beijing as a data analyst.

For more information, please visit my research page and teaching page or download my full CV.