Curriculum Vitae (plain version)

Last updated: June 2026

Ian Zhang

Curriculum Vitae

My downloadable CV can be found here.

Contact Information

Education

PhD in Statistics, University of Toronto — Sep 2026 –

  • Advisors: Joshua Speagle, Thibault Randrianarisoa

MSc in Statistics, University of Toronto — Sep 2025 – Jun 2026

  • Advisor: Nancy Reid

Honours BSc in Statistics/Mathematics, University of Toronto — Sep 2021 – Jun 2025

  • Advisor: Jun Young Park
  • Graduated with high distinction

Publications and Preprints

†: Corresponding Author    *: Equal contribution

Published

Michael A. Kouritzin, Ian Zhang†, Jyoti Bhadana, Seoyeon Park. Markov processes for enhanced deepfake generation and detection[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2026, 11(4): 11731–11759. doi: 10.3934/math.2026483

Under Review

Aditya Khan, Ian Zhang (2026).
Parametric Hotspot Analysis with the Getis-Ord Statistic.

In Progress

Ian Zhang†, Thibault Randrianarisoa (2026).
Likelihood Tempering to Mitigate Prior Dominance in Variational Posteriors for Bayesian Neural Networks.

Ian Zhang*,†, Hanlong Chen*, . . ., Howard Chertkow, . . ., Malcolm Binns (2026).
Redundancy-Aware Model Assessment for Component and Cluster Selection in Clinical Subtype Discovery.

Hanlong Chen*, Ian Zhang*, . . . , Malcolm Binns (2026).
Continuous Cognitive Heterogeneity in Dementia: A Severity Factor and an Age-Related Amnestic Axis Without Reproducible Subtypes.

Ian Zhang†, Finn Tran, Meredith Franklin (2026).
Spatial Dependence Regularization for Improved Generalization in Climate Downscaling Models.

Research Experience

Graduate Research Assistant, Baycrest Institute/University of Toronto — 2025 – Present
Supervisor: Malcolm Binns

Summer Research Trainee, McGill University — 2025
Supervisor: Jianguo (Jeff) Xia

Research Assistant, University of Alberta — 2023 – 2024
Supervisor: Mike Kouritzin

Teaching

Teaching Assistant

  • UofT Statistical Sciences Research Program (UTSSRP) — Summer 2026
  • STA437: Methods of Multivariate Data — Winter 2026
  • MAT137: Calculus with Proofs — Fall 2025 & Winter 2026
  • STA302: Methods of Data Analysis I — Fall 2025

Presentations

Conference Talks

2026 Joint Statistical Meetings — 2026
Will be presenting RAMA: Redundancy-Aware Model Assessment for PCA-Based Clinical Subtype Discovery.

2026 SSC Annual Meeting in Hamilton — 2026
Presented Likelihood Tempering to Mitigate Prior Dominance in Variational Posteriors for Bayesian Neural Networks in the New Frontiers in Bayesian Analysis session.

2025 SSC Annual Meeting in Saskatoon — 2025
Presented Markov Processes for Enhanced Deepfake Generation and Detection in the Probability session.

Third Joint SIAM/CAIMS Annual Meetings — 2025
Presented Markov Processes for Enhanced Deepfake Generation and Detection in the Machine Learning and Stochastic Processes session.

Posters

The Thirteenth Annual Canadian Statistics Student Conference — 2025
Presented Comparing Exact and Approximate Inference for Spatial Autocorrelation Tests: A Power Analysis.

Honours and Awards

Anna & Alex Beverly Memorial Fellowship — 2025
Awarded by University College (University of Toronto) for general proficiency during my undergraduate degree.

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (x2) — 2023, 2024
Awarded by the University of Alberta to research Markov process methods for deepfake generation and detection.

Jack Zwaigenbaum Scholarship — 2022
Awarded by University College (University of Toronto) for academic excellence in my first year of undergraduate studies.

Dean’s List Scholar (x4) — 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Awarded by the Faculty of Arts and Science (University of Toronto) for maintaining academic excellence every year of my undergraduate degree.

Grants

CSSC Travel Grant — 2025
Awarded to full-time Canadian students presenting a poster or giving a talk at the Canadian Statistics Student Conference.

Services

Conferences

Session chair, 2025 Third Joint SIAM/CAIMS Annual Meetings
Chaired the “Machine Learning and Stochastic Processes” session.

Other

  • Citizenship: Canadian
  • Languages Spoken: English (native), Mandarin (native), Japanese (intermediate)
  • Memberships: Statistical Society of Canada