I was born and raised in the “Zomia” region within what is now southwestern China. Fascinated from an early age by the rise and fall of Marxist-Leninist regimes around the world, I pursued sociology at Renmin University of China, the country's leading institution for the social sciences. In 2015, I moved to Russia to study the language and later enrolled at the European University at St. Petersburg, one of the country’s top social science institutions. When the university became entangled in Russia’s elite power struggles and temporarily lost its teaching license in 2017, I transferred to King’s College London, where I completed my first master’s degree. In 2018, I relocated again, first to Massachusetts, USA, as a visiting student at Harvard University's David Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and then Rhode Island, to pursue a PhD in sociology at Brown University, where I began my scholarly journey as a sociologist of comparative science and organizations.

While doing my dissertation fieldwork, I've developed an interest in the history of regional and "sub-national" identities and indigenous peoples' rights in China and Russia.

Outside academia, I'm an avid NBA fan, a co-op FPS gamer, an amateur classical pianist, and a public transport enthusiast.