Ada Rapoport-Albert is Reader in Jewish History and Tutor of the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies. Her doctoral dissertation was a study of the process by which the Hasidic movement, beginning in mid 18th century Poland. She has published many studies of Hasidism, focusing on particular institutions or schools of thought (Braslav, Habad). She teaches courses and supervises postgraduate research on the history and literature of Hasidism, on the Kabbalah and other schools of Jewish esoteric spirituality, and on various aspects of medieval and early modern Jewish history.