Ph.D. Candidate in statistics at University of California, Davis
Email: yahjin@ucdavis.edu
Github: https://github.com/yanhaojin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yahjin/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=HyKpNT8AAAAJ
I am currently a fifth-year Ph.D. student in Statistics at UC Davis, advised by Professors Krishna Balasubramanian and Debashis Paul. My research interests lie at the intersection of optimization, meta-learning, high-dimensional statistics, in-context learning, and transformers, with a particular focus on developing theoretical foundations for modern machine learning and deep learning. During my Ph.D., I have also worked with Professor Lifeng Lai on problems in differential privacy.
Before pursuing my Ph.D., I earned a Master’s degree in Statistics from UC Davis, where I developed a strong background in statistical modeling, predictive analytics, statistical inference, and computational methods. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), where I built a rigorous foundation in probability, linear algebra, and mathematical optimization under the mentorship of Professor Qizhai Li.
Throughout my academic training, I have developed expertise in both the theoretical and computational aspects of machine learning, including statistical inference, optimization, high-dimensional statistics, and scalable learning algorithms, as well as practical experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow. My research aims to bridge rigorous mathematical theory with modern machine learning and artificial intelligence.
STA 243 Computational Statistics [Spring 2024]
STA 221 Big Data and High Dimensional Statistical Computing [Fall 2025]
STA 220 Data & Web Technologies for Data Science [Winter 2026]
STA 209 Optimization for Big Data Analytics [Fall 2022]
STA 207 Statistical Methods for Research II [Winter 2025]
STA 160 Practice in Statistical Data Science [Fall 2024]
STA 145 Bayesian Statistical Inference [Spring 2023]
STA 135 Multivariate Data Analysis [Fall 2023]
STA 131A Introduction to Probability Theory [Winter 2022, 2023, 2024]
STA 035C Statistical Data Science III [Spring 2026]
STA 032 Gateway to Statistical Data Science [Spring 2022]
STA 013 Elementary Statistics [Fall 2021, 2025, Winter 2026]