Austin Dean received his Ph.D. in Chinese history from Ohio State University in 2016. His first monograph, China and the End of Global Silver, 1873-1973, was published in 2020 with Cornell University Press. 

His current research, Ma Yinchu and the Dilemmas of Modern China, examines the life, ideas, and legacy of Ma Yinchu, an economist, intellectual, and all-around gadfly who, during his long life from 1882-1982, confronted a host of key questions: how could China industrialize? What is the relationship between intellectuals and the state? Should there be some kind of birth control policy in China, and what might it look like? Ma was also one of the few people to be part of the establishment in the Qing dynasty, the Republican period, and during the People’s Republic of China.

In addition, he is conducting initial research on the history of the EB-5 Visa program and its links to larger questions of transnational capital, citizenship, and US-China relations. 

He regularly teaches classes on different aspects of East Asian history and World history.