Dr Yee Mun Lee

Profile

Yee Mun Lee is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds. She is a cognitive/experimental psychologist. She obtained her BSc (Hons) in Psychology and her PhD degree in driving cognition from The University of Nottingham Malaysia in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

Employment History

• 2025-present: Associate Professor, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
• 2020-2025: Senior Research Fellow - Human Factors of Vehicle Automation, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
• 2018-2020: Research Fellow – Human Factors of Vehicle Automation, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
• 2016-2017: Lecturer in Experimental Psychology, Psychology Department, Wrexham University
• 2012-2016: Teaching/Research Assistant, School of Psychology, The University of Nottingham Malaysia

Research interests

Yee Mun’s research centres on the cognitive and human factors aspects of road user behaviour. Her work spans several key areas:

(1) Interaction with Autonomous Vehicles: She investigates how autonomous vehicles (AVs) interact with onboard users and other road users in mixed traffic environments. This includes designing both explicit and implicit communication strategies to improve the quality and safety of these interactions.

(2) Cross-Cultural Perception and Judgment: She explores how road users’ perception and decision-making differ across cultures, particularly between developing and developed countries. Her UK–Malaysia cross-cultural research began 15 years ago and has covered a range of topics including hazard perception, visual attention, intention understanding, and judgment.

(3) Inclusiveness: Yee Mun’s research focuses on including marginalised road user groups—such as vulnerable road users (e.g. motorcyclists and pedestrians) and road users with disabilities (e.g. those with mobility challenges and neurodiversity). She investigates how user interactions evolve across different types of road infrastructure. Her previous work includes examining the impact of speed limit credibility on drivers' speed choices, evaluating interventions that influence speed judgment, and exploring crossing designs that promote safer interactions.

Dr Yee Mun Lee leads and contributes to several major research projects focused on human interaction with automated vehicles (AVs), inclusive transport design, and cross-cultural user behaviour. Her work spans user evaluation, methodological innovation, and neurodiversity in transport. Current and past projects include:

• Autistic Children Matter: Addressing Road Crossing Challenges from Multiple Perspectives (2025 - 2027) funded by the Road Safety Trust Autistic Children Matter: Addressing Road Crossing Challenges from Multiple Perspectives | Faculty of Environment | University of Leeds
• Gaps, risks, and unwritten rules of the road: How road-user interactions differ across cultures (2024 - 2026) funded by ESRC Gaps, risks, and unwritten rules of the road: How road-user interactions differ across cultures | Faculty of Environment | University of Leeds
• Hi-Drive Deployment of Higher Automation (2021-2025) co-funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020 programme. Co-lead of the User Sub-project. Hi-Drive Deployment of Higher Automation
• SHAPE-IT Supporting the Interaction of Humans and Automated Vehicles: Preparing for the Environment of Tomorrow (2019-2024) funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie. Project Supervisor of ESR4 on Long Term Effects on AV Exposure on AV/VRU Interactions. SHAPE-IT – Supporting the Interaction of Humans and Automated Vehicles: Preparing for the Environment of Tomorrow
• L3-Pilot Driving Autiomation (2017-2021) funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Investigated the Users' Evaluation and Experience of a Level 3 system.
• interACT Designing cooperative interaction of automated vehicles with other road users in mixed traffic environment (2017-2020) funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Leader of the 'Methodologies, Evaluation and Impact Assessment' Work Package.

Plenary, Keynotes and Invited Presentation:

• Education in Action: Psychology, at London Emmanuel Centre, invited plenary (Nov and Dec 2023). Number of attendees: 800
• Global Young Scientist Forum – Trustworthy AI for Autonomous Driving, online, invited plenary, organised FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference China and China SAE (2023). Number of attendees: 80000
• Transportation Research Board 2023 workshop: invited presentation online. Number of attendees: 200
• Education in Action: Computer Science, at London Emmanuel Centre, invited plenary (2022). Number of attendees: 800
• Panel Discussion invited by Highways UK, The NEC National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham (2022). Number of attendees: 100
• The British Science Festival invited speaker, Leicester (2022). Number of attendees: 150.
• Panel speaker and discussion at AV Test and Development Symposium, Novi, Michigan. (2018). Number of attendees: 1000

• Gaps, risks, and unwritten rules of the road: How road-user interactions differ across cultures

Qualifications

• PhD, Cognitive aspects of Driving, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus
• BSc (Hons), Psychology, University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus

Professional memberships

• Chartered Membership (CPsychol), The British Psychological Society
• Member, Experimental Psychology Society
• Member, ISO/TC22/SC39
• Member, CAM Standards Coordination Group

Student education

Student education:

• TRAN5763M Road Safety (Master Level, 2023 to current)
• MECH5495M Engineering Psychology and Human Factors (Master Level, 2018 to current)
• TRAN5199M Transport Dissertation (Master Level, 2018 to current)

PhD students:

• Yuwei Wang (2024 – 2027) Designing human-like deceleration to improve yielding communication for automated vehicles funded by EPSRC DTP.
• Yue Yang (2020 – 2025) Automated vehicle-pedestrian interaction: The effects of communication strategies and repeated exposures funded by SHAPE-IT (European Union's Horizon 2020 research programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie)

Visiting postgraduate researchers (co-supervisor):

• Alice Rollwagen (Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, 2023)
• Yang Li (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 2022-2023)
• Wilbert Tabone (TUDelft, 2022-2023)
• Xian Liu (Southeastern University, 2022)
• Stefanie Horn (TU Chemnitz, 2021)
• Wei Lyu (Anhui Polytechnic University, 2021-2022)
• Anees Ahamed Kaleefathullah (TUDelft, 2020)
• Pablo Velasco (TUDelft, 2019)
• Markus Rothmueller (Aalborg University, 2018)
• Alexandra Vendelbo-Larsen (Aalborg University, 2018)
• Pernille Rasmussen (Aalborg University, 2018)

Lecturer in Experimental Psychology (2016-2017). I was the module leader for:

• Statistical Methods
• Individual Differences
• Biological Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Practical Methods
• Undergraduate research projects.

Research groups and institutes

• Human Factors and Safety

Current postgraduate researchers

• Yue Yang
• Yuwei Wang