About Me

My name is Yuzhe (Julian) Lei. I am a first-year Ph.D. student at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. I also work as a research fellow at the Politics, Identity, and Communication Lab (PICL), supervised by Dr. Deen Freelon.

I’m interested in political communication, particularly focusing on identity-based attitudes and behaviors in digital media settings. Given that identity is increasingly multifaceted and intersectional, I plan to blend computational, quantitative, and qualitative approaches to explore the following issues:

  1. How do individuals construct complex identity systems, negotiate multiple identities, and strategically curate their identities online?
  2. How do social identities (e.g., class, race, gender, nationality) interact with political identity, influencing political attitudes and behaviors, such as polarization, online political expression, and political engagement?
  3. How does the information environment in digital media, such as the prevalence of mis/disinformation from influencers, interplay with identity and identity-based attitudes and behaviors?

My work has appeared in The International Journal of Press/Politics and at conferences in communication and political science, such as the annual conferences of the International Communication Association (ICA), National Communication Association (NCA), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and American Political Science Association (APSA).

In my free time, I enjoy watching movies, photography, and visiting museums. In 2024, I watched around 170 movies in theaters. I’m a big fan of true crime podcasts. I’m also a dog person, and my biggest goal during my Ph.D. is to raise a Shiba Inu.

Education

<aside> <img src="attachment:cb2b0180-2382-46e8-977a-798a8ab38575:UniversityofPennsylvania_Shield_RGB-2.png" alt="attachment:cb2b0180-2382-46e8-977a-798a8ab38575:UniversityofPennsylvania_Shield_RGB-2.png" width="40px" /> University of Pennsylvania (2025 - 2030 Expected)

Ph.D. Student in Communication

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<aside> <img src="attachment:8734927e-2772-47a4-877b-a897d0087b02:University_of_Texas_at_Austin_seal.svg.png" alt="attachment:8734927e-2772-47a4-877b-a897d0087b02:University_of_Texas_at_Austin_seal.svg.png" width="40px" /> The University of Texas at Austin (2023 - 2025)

M.A. in Journalism and Media (Research and Theory Track)

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<aside> <img src="attachment:2dee80ec-2be2-4b55-a596-9cb714b11634:Emblem_of_CU.png" alt="attachment:2dee80ec-2be2-4b55-a596-9cb714b11634:Emblem_of_CU.png" width="40px" /> The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2021 - 2022)

M.S.Sc. in Advertising

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<aside> <img src="attachment:81fc29ca-c429-4dee-873d-9bb6138b25c0:Renmin_University_of_China_logo.svg.png" alt="attachment:81fc29ca-c429-4dee-873d-9bb6138b25c0:Renmin_University_of_China_logo.svg.png" width="40px" /> Renmin University of China (2017 - 2021)

B.Mgmt. in Labor and Social Security (Minor in Journalism)

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Honors and Awards