Sam van Schaik este expert in istoria timpurie a Tibetului si autor a numeroase carti despre Tibet si budismul tibetan, printre care Approaching the Great Perfection: Simultaneous and Gradual Approaches to Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig (2004) si Manuscripts and Travellers: The Sino-Tibetan Documents of a Tenth-Century Buddhist Pilgrim (2012). A obtinut doctoratul in literatura budista tibetana in 2000 la Universitatea Manchester, iar in prezent lucreaza la Proiectul International Dunhuang in cadrul British Library, Londra, care studiaza manuscrisele budiste tibetane din Dunhuang.