Zhao’s research focuses on the testing of linguistically diverse populations, especially the English-to-Chinese translation and cultural adaptation of large-scale international assessments. Recent work examines the development of translation and adaptation procedures that are sensitive to the characteristics of translators’ and translation reviewers’ local cultures.
She has had papers published in leading academic journals including the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development and International Multilingual Research Journal. She is the principal investigator of two provincial-level research projects.

Zhao has a Ph.D. in bilingual education from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Before joining Duke Kunshan University, she was the associate director of the English Department at Southeast University.