Dr. Shen is currently a professor at the Institute for China Studies, RUC, Beijing. He earned his Ph.D. in language and cultural science of Central Asia from the University of Bonn in Germany and has degrees in history and Tibetan studies. He has been a visiting scholar at many universities around the world. His research focuses on Tibet, specifically the life and institutions of the various Dalai Lamas, and the Sino-Tibetan relationship and Tibetan Buddhism.