He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2003 and Ph.D. in Economics from the Center of Economic Research and Graduate Education of Charles University in 1999. Before joining The City University of New York, he worked as a researcher at the Department of Economics at Bielefeld University in Germany and as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics at Hunter College of The City University of New York. His current research interests are in the areas of international economics, monetary theory, and economic growth.