Yonder Gillihan currently serves as Associate Professor with Boston College's Theology Department. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degree in History from Ball State University and his Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christian Literature from the University of Chicago.

His research interests include the Dead Sea Scrolls, Matthew and Paul, apocalypticism, and Christian origins within the context of Jewish sectarianism in the late Second Temple period. His research methods include the application of modern social-scientific methods to ancient communities, with emphasis on the relationship between voluntary associations, and local and imperial authorities.