Dr Mimi Huang

Assistant Professor

School: Humanities and Social Sciences

I am an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University and Research Group Lead for English Language and Linguistics. My research examines the relationship between language, identity, personhood and wellbeing. Drawing on cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis and narrative studies, I investigate the communicative processes through which individuals interpret lived experiences, construct identities and navigate relationships within social and institutional contexts.

My current research focuses on communication and financial wellbeing, particularly among children and young people. I analyse how financial responsibility and agency are framed and negotiated across family relationships, educational settings, digital environments and support services, paying close attention to trust, stigma and communicative inequality.

In October 2026, I organised Penny for Your Thoughts: The Ways We Talk about Money and Wellbeing, a public engagement event held as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2026. The event invited the public to reflect on the role of language in shaping experiences and understandings of money and wellbeing.

My research on financial wellbeing builds on my established work in health and trauma-informed communication, which continues through my applied research and knowledge exchange. The Saving Lives initiative focuses on trauma-informed communication and wellbeing support for volunteer emergency responders, in collaboration with emergency services and community organisations. My evaluation of the SafetyWorks! community safety education programme for school pupils in Tyne and Wear, commissioned by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, examines how pupils engage with and learn from interactive safety education.

As a member of the Northumbria Centre for Responsible AI, I explore the role of artificial intelligence in communication and wellbeing. My interests extend to the responsible application of AI in the development of inclusive communication tools.

I have extensive experience of leading undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I am currently Principal Supervisor for four PhD researchers, whose projects span vicarious trauma in public service interpreting, cognitive stylistics, media discourse and the evolution of language.

I welcome enquiries from organisations and community groups about research partnerships, commissioned research and consultancy, as well as from prospective PhD researchers.

Email Mimi

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Language, identity and personhood
Communication and financial wellbeing
Children and young people's financial experiences and socialisation
Health, wellbeing and trauma-informed communication
Narratives, discourse and lived experience
Responsible AI and inclusive communication

Disciplinary approaches: Cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis, narrative studies, stylistics and corpus linguistics

Applied research and knowledge exchange: Participatory co-design, realist-informed evaluation, mixed-methods research, CPD and training, educational resource design and multi-agency partnership working

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
'We're not trained for the trauma': Narrative gaps and communicative challenges among volunteer waterside responders, Huang, M. 4 Sep 2025, BAAL Conference 2025, Glasgow, The University of Glasgow
Implicit and explicit linguistic biases: The influence of social dominance orientation (SDO) upon hierarchical language attitudes, McKenzie, R., McCarty, K., Huang, M. 1 May 2025, In: Lingua
Narrative modulations in patient-practitioner communication: Exploring attunement and misattunement in supported self-management, Huang, M. 1 Jun 2024, In: Language and Health
Weaving narrative threads with social psychological processes: narrative modulations in online consumer reviews of a medical memoir, Huang, M. 1 Nov 2024, In: Language and Literature
Unraveling Digital Narratives in UK Healthcare Contexts: A Mixed-Method Investigation of Online Consumer Book Reviews, Huang, M. 23 Aug 2023, British Association for Applied Linguistics 56th Annual Conference (BAAL 2023), Oxford, Oxford University Press
Narrative Modulation in the Storytelling of Breast Cancer Survivors’ Transitional Experiences, Huang, M. Jul 2020, The Language of Crisis, Amsterdam, John Benjamins
The Language of Crisis: Metaphors, Frames and Discourses, Huang, M., Holmgreen, L. 16 Jul 2020
Introduction: Constructing and Communicating Crisis Discourse from Cognitive, Discursive and Sociocultural Perspectives, Huang, M. Jul 2020, The Language of Crisis, Amsterdam, John Benjamins
Socio-psychological salience and categorisation accuracy of speaker place of origin, McKenzie, R., Huang, M., Ong, T., Snodin, N. 1 Sep 2019, In: Lingua
Performing Professional Identity in Oncology Nursing: A Case Study in China’s Healthcare Services, Huang, M. 12 Apr 2018, British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2018, Durham, British Sociological Association

PGR Supervision

Xingdi Qiang Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Xingdi Qiang The dynamics of war-induced displacement A Corpus-Assisted Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of British Media Coverage of Ukrainian Refugees (2022–) Start Date: 01/10/2025
Saeed Hoseini Viewpoint and Perspective-Taking in Narrative Lyric Poetry: A Cognitive-Stylistic and Empirical Study Start Date: 01/10/2024
Yulin Diao Communicators on the Frontlines: A Mixed-methods Study on the Linguistic Dimensions of Vicarious Trauma in Public Service Interpreters. Start Date: 01/10/2024
Saeed Hoseini Multiple Voices in Lyric Poetry: A Discourse Stylistic Study of How a Non-Narrative Genre Creates Effect Through Narrative. Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025
Yulin Diao Communicators on the Frontlines: A Mixed-methods Study on the Linguistic Dimensions of Vicarious Trauma in Public Service Interpreters. Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025
Kate Nelson An investigation into the evolution of theory of mind, pragmatic competence and the human faculty for language in hominins: evidence from primate studies. Start Date: 10/07/2026