Zack Beer received a B.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University (2004) and then spent ten years studying and teaching in Nepal, during which time he also completed an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from Kathmandu University (2010). His research interests center on the history and theory of Tibetan Buddhist ritual practice, particularly the origins of the tradition of three year meditation retreat.
Matteo De Micheli obtained a B.A. (2009) and an M.A. (2011) in Chinese Studies from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, both of which were supplemented by language studies in China. He also earned an M.A. in Translation, Textual Interpretation, and Philology from Kathmandu University, Centre of Buddhist Studies at Rangjung Yeshe Institute (2022). His research interests primarily revolve around the intellectual history of Tibetan Buddhism, with a specific emphasis on exegetical works of tantric texts.
Jackson Macor received a B.A. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations (2017) and an M.A. in Divinity (2020) from the University of Chicago, both supplemented by language study in India and Japan. His research interests include doctrinal developments in Chinese Buddhism during the Sui and early Tang, in particular the writings of the Sanlun (Three Treatises) exegete Jizang.
Tanner McAlister received a B.A. in Religious Studies, and a B.A. in Economics (2019), at Utah State University and a MTS in Buddhist Studies at the Harvard Divinity School (2021). He also spent a year teaching Classical Tibetan translation for the Sarnath International Nyingma Institute. His research focuses on issues of legitimation and innovation in the Tibetan Treasure (gter ma) tradition, particularly in relation to biographies of Padmasambhava.
Howard Mu received a B.A. in Philosophy, and Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College (2018), and an M.A. in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley (2021). He is primarily interested in scholastic Buddhist thought in India and China, especially the Chinese Madhyamaka tradition. His research currently focuses on Jizang and his commentaries on Indian Madhyamaka treatises.
Monica Thunder received a BA in creative writing and anthropology from U.C. Santa Cruz in 2014, and later received an MA in Buddhist Studies from Kathmandu University in 2022. Her current research focuses on the history and development of various Buddhist deity practices as they unfolded in early tantric contexts.
Ryoze Wada received a B.A. in Buddhist Studies from Kyoto University (2016), an M.A. in Shin Buddhist Studies from Otani University (2018), and a second M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the Graduate Theological Union (2020) at Berkeley. His research interests include the origins and impact of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, especially the significance of the medieval period in historical and doctrinal contexts.
Joseph Wood received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota (1966), an M.A. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin (1972), and a J.D. from the University of California-Berkeley (1981). His research interests include philosophical/legal principles underlying rules of monastic conduct, and causation theory as it relates to effect of vows, rituals, etc.
