Li Li is a Lecturer in Interpreting and Translation Studies at the University of Stirling. She completed her AHRC-funded PhD at the University of East Anglia, where she examined maternity interpreting services in UK healthcare settings.
Her research conceptualises healthcare interpreting as a sociotechnical and organisational system. She investigates modality decision-making, interpreter workforce sustainability, and the implementation of video-mediated provision, analysing how institutional structures, professional practices and technological infrastructures shape equitable language access. Drawing on mixed-methods research and sociological and implementation science frameworks, her work explores why interpreting innovations succeed or fail within complex service environments.
Her research has informed national guidance on cross-cultural communication in maternity care and is supported by ESRC impact funding to develop research-informed professional training. She is a professionally accredited Mandarin Chinese–English conference interpreter, registered with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters, and a member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and the Association of Interpreters and Translators (AIT).
Research interests:
• Healthcare and maternity interpreting
• Video-mediated interpreting in public service settings
• Interpreter training and professional development
• Public service interpreting quality assessment
• Language access and health inequalities
• Legal interpreting
Book Chapter
Interpreting and translation services
Li L, Brooks E & Bridle L (2023) Interpreting and translation services. In: Qureshi Z & Suleman M (eds.) Anti-racist Medicine: : An Essential Guide to Advancing Equity in Medical Education, Research, Technology, Policy and Practice. 1 ed. Elsevier. https://www.eu.elsevierhealth.com/anti-racist-medicine-9780443123580.html
Article
Li L (2025) The vicious circle: how systemic barriers perpetuate maternity interpreting service inadequacies for migrant women in the UK. Frontiers in Global Womens Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2025.1638434
Dr Li Li brings extensive UK university teaching experience, including roles at the University of Birmingham and as Course Director for MA Conference Interpreting and Translation at the University of Essex. At the University of Stirling, she currently teaches undergraduate modules in interpreting skills, practical translation, professional development, Chinese language, culture and cross-cultural communication. She coordinates key modules on interpreting skills and foundation-level cross-cultural communication and supervises postgraduate research dissertations. Her teaching integrates practical, professional, and research-led approaches to prepare students for careers in translation and interpreting.
