Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu received his doctorate from Harvard in psychology. He was a Fulbright scholar in Okinawa before becoming tenured professor at the University of Tokyo. At Stanford he is consulting professor in the School of Medicine and teaches in the Program in Human Biology, Anthropology, and in the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.

His books in Japanese and English include: Multicultural Encounters, Amerasian Children, and Narratives of Multicultural Counseling. His most recent book is When Half is Whole: Multiethnic Asian American Identities (2012, Stanford University Press). Another co-authored book, Synergy, Healing, and Empowerment: Insights From Cultural Diversity, will be published in 2012 (Brush Education).