Trent Walker received a BA in Religious Studies from Stanford University in 2010. He spent two years in Cambodia researching Khmer and Pali "Dharma songs" (dharm pad or smūtr) in preparation for his BA thesis on the aesthetics of this liturgical tradition. Currently earning his PhD in Buddhist studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Trent's current research interests include Buddhist musical and liturgical practices, particularly the history of Theravāda chant in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.