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Biography
I hold a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in the History of Religion from Columbia University (2006) with a focus in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. I was a Fulbright scholar in India, and I also have a background in qualitative and quantitative research in the IT sector in California. I am currently editor of Studia Orientalia Electronica, the peer-reviewed online journal of Studia Orientalia, the publication series of the Finnish Oriental Society established in 1917. My multidisciplinary research interests include Tibetology, questions of identity and meaning-making, and the integration of spiritual themes in popular culture.
Research
My dissertation focused on the doxographical work of the 14th-century Tibetan scholar and yogi Longchen Rabjam (kun mkhyen klong chen rab 'byams pa). I continue to engage with the field as an editor of the Khyentse Vision Project, dedicated to the translation of the literary corpus of the 19th-century Rime scholar Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po).
I am currently finishing a monograph titled Spi-Fi: Spiritual Fiction in Comics, which examines the significance of stories and art for identity construction and personal transformation; supported by the Kone Foundation, this research project was inspired by my involvement as one of the creators of the graphic novel Mandala (Dark Horse Comics).
A significant portion of my time at the University of Turku has been spent with the John Morton Center for North American Studies, where I was part of the Academy of Finland "Campus Carry" research project. Through the JMC, I have also edited and written for multiple special issues on the U.S. Presidential Election.