Cuihua ShenView profile
Professor
Cuihua (Cindy) Shen is a Professor of Communication at the University of California, Davis, and co-founder of the Computational Communication Research lab. She is affiliated with the Computational Social Science Designated Emphasis and the East Asian Studies program. Her research focuses on computational social science, online social networks, and AI-mediated misinformation. Dr. Shen holds a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California, an M.A. from the National University of Singapore, and a B.A. from Zhejiang University. Her work combines big data analysis with surveys and experiments to study phenomena such as social network structures, misinformation diffusion, and user behavior in platforms like Facebook, WeChat, and MMORPGs. Her research has been funded by the NSF, Facebook, and Google Cloud, and has appeared in top journals including Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication and New Media & Society . Education: Ph.D., USC Annenberg (2010); M.A., National University of Singapore (2005); B.A., Zhejiang University (2003) Dr. Shen’s research interests span two core areas: (1) social network dynamics in online platforms, and (2) multimodal misinformation in AI-driven ecosystems. She has received multiple top paper awards, including the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. She serves as an Associate Editor at Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication and led the Computational Methods Division at the International Communication Association (2017–2022). Her recent work examines strategies to combat misinformation through digital literacy interventions and explores how exogenous events shape public discourse on social media. Key publications include studies on Twitch.tv well-being dynamics, context collapse management on WeChat, and fact-checking mechanisms in Chinese TikTok. Awards: Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award, Top Paper Awards (ICA 2015–2023), Carolyn Dexter Award Nominee Editorial Roles: Founding Associate Editor at Computational Communication Research , Past Chair of ICA’s Computational Methods Division Dr. Shen advises on computational communication methods and leads interdisciplinary teams in studying online behavior. Her lab collaborates on projects funded by major institutions, focusing on both theoretical advancements and practical solutions to digital misinformation challenges.










