Ryan A. Musto is a Director of the Robert M. Gates Initiative in American Statecraft. In this role he oversees GIAS across its core pillars of coursework, research, fellowships, and the Gates Forums. He previously served as the Director of Forums and Research Initiatives with the Global Research Institute at William & Mary. At GRI, he provided intellectual leadership to a variety of applied research programs and led the conceptual development and coordination of convenings that integrated academic and policy audiences.

By training, Musto is a diplomatic historian with concentrations in nuclear and Cold War international history. He is currently completing a book manuscript on the international history of regional nuclear-weapon-free zones. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in top-ranked journals, such as Diplomatic History, Cold War History, Diplomacy & Statecraft, The American Historical Review, and The International History Review, amongst others. His policy analysis and commentary have been featured with CNN en Español, Newsweek, BBC Mundo, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Arms Control Today, Lawfare, Americas Quarterly, and more.

Musto previously served as a MacArthur Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow with the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University, where he remains an affiliate. He also served as a Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT. His work has been generously supported by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, the Stanton Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and more.

Musto holds a Ph.D. in history from The George Washington University, master’s degrees in international and world history from Columbia University and the London School of Economics, and a B.A. (hons.) in history from NYU.