CV

Education

• Ph.D, Statistics, University of Bristish Columbia, 2024
  • Advisors: Dr. Nancy Heckman & Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé
  • Dissertation: Modelling complex biologging data with hidden Markov models
  • Cumulative GPA: 4.0/4.0
• B.S. / M.S., Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado, 2018
  • Advisor: Dr. Jem Corcoran
  • Thesis: Network structure sampling in Bayesian networks via perfect sampling from linear extensions
  • Cumulative GPA: 4.0/4.0

Work Experience

• Distinguished Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Simon Fraser University: Oct 2024 - Present
  • Develop variational Bayesian inference techniques over phylogenetic trees
  • Classify killer whale audio data using deep learning architectures in PyTorch
  • Experience parallelizing thousands of experiments on remote cluster
• Senior Statistical Consultant, University of British Columbia: Dec 2021 - Oct 2024
  • Assisted clients with formulating research questions and study designs
  • Implemented statistical and machine learning methods including clustering analysis, NLP, mixed effects models, and longitudinal analysis
  • Interdisciplinary clients (e.g., medicine, oceanography, political science)
  • Wrote technical reports to communicate recommendations
• Data Scientist II, Seagate Technology: Jun 2018 - Jun 2019
  • Developed deep learning architectures (e.g., LSTMs and autoencoders) to diagnose anomalies in high-dimensional time series sensor data
  • Created application to automatically query multiple databases and detect hard drive manufacturing errors
• Data Science Intern, Code42 Software: Summer 2017
  • Used machine learning (DBSCAN, SVM) to find anomalies in IP addresses
  • Traced and plotted the file history within the company using Python
  • Extensive use of Pandas and Spark on an AWS EMR cluster

Technical Skills

• Programing Languages:
  • Python (numpy, scikit-learn, matplotlib, scipy, pandas, pyspark, tensorflow, keras, pytorch), R (dplyr, ggplot, Rcpp), MATLAB, Julia, SQL, C/C++
• Software Tools:
  • Git, Mathematica, LaTeX, OSX, Windows, Linux

Selected Awards

• Best Student Presentation (of 42 participants), International Biometric Society: 2024
• Best Paper Award (of over 50 published papers), Canadian Journal of Statistics: 2023
• Marshall Prize (outstanding statistics graduate student), Univerity of British Columbia: 2023
• Rick White Award (outstanding interdisciplinary statistics PhD student), Univerity of British Columbia: 2022
• Best PhD Presentation (of 24 participants), Canadian Student Statistical Conference: 2020
• Four Year Fellowship (outstanding incoming statistics PhD student), Univerity of British Columbia: 2019
• Outstanding Graduate of the College (of ~1,000 graduating students), Univeristy of Colorado Boulder: 2018

Publications

Variance-reduced stochastic optimization for efficient inference of hidden Markov models

Sidrow, E., Heckman, N., Bouchard-Côté, A., Fortune, S.M.E., Trites, A.W., and Auger-Méthé, M. (2024). Variance-reduced stochastic optimization for efficient inference of hidden Markov models. Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics, 1-39

Killer whale respiration rates

McRae, T.M., Volpov, B.L., Sidrow, E., Fortune, S.M.E., Auger-Méthé, M., Heckman, N., and Trites, A.W. (2024). Killer whale respiration rates. PLOS One 19(5), 1-26.

Characterization of respirable dust generated from full scale cutting tests in limestone with conical picks at three stages of wear

Slouka, S., Brune, J., Rostami, J., Tsai, C., and Sidrow, E. (2022). Characterization of respirable dust generated from full scale cutting tests in limestone with conical picks at three stages of wear. Minerals 12(8), 930.

Modelling multi-scale, state-switching functional data with hidden Markov models

Sidrow, E., Heckman, N., Fortune, S.M.E., Trites, A.W., Murphy, I., and Auger-Méthé, M. (2022). Modelling multi-scale, state-switching functional data with hidden Markov models. Canadian Journal of Statistics 50(1), 327-356.

Plasma conditions at Europa’s orbit​

Bagenal, F., Sidrow, E., Wilson, R., Cassidy, T., Dols, V., Crary, F., Steffl, A., Delamere, P., Kurth, W., and Paterson, W. (2015). Plasma conditions at Europa's orbit. Icarus 261, 1-13.

Talks

Stochastic optimization for efficient inference in ecological hidden Markov models

June 11, 2024

Best student oral presentation (of 42 participants) at Western North American Region of the International Biometric Society Annual Meeting, Fort Collins, CO, USA

Variance-reduced stochastic optimization for efficient inference of hidden Markov models

March 09, 2024

Invited presentation at UBC-SFU Joint Statistics Seminar, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Modelling multi-scale, state-switching functional data with hidden Markov models

May 31, 2023

Invited presentation at Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Modelling functional data with hierarchical hidden Markov models: Applications to animal movement

May 30, 2022

Invited presentation at Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting, Virtual

Modelling marine mammal sub-dive behaviour with hierarchical hidden Markov models

May 30, 2020

Best PhD oral presentation (of 24 participants) at Statistical Society of Canada Annual Meeting, Virtual

Teaching

Teaching Assistant, UBC Vancouver

Teaching Assistant, University of British Columbia, Statistics, 2024

• STAT 443: Time Series and Forecasting, Spring 2024
• STAT 300: Intermediate Statistics, Fall 2021
• STAT 300: Intermediate Statistics, Fall 2019

Teaching Assistant, CU Boulder

Teaching Assistant, University of Colorado, Applied Mathematics, 2018

• APPM 1235: Pre-Calculus for Engineers, Spring 2018
• APPM 1350: Calculus 1 for Engineers, Fall 2017

Learning Assistant, CU Boulder

Learning Assistant, University of Colorado, Applied Mathematics, 2015

• APPM 3170: Discrete Mathematics, Fall 2015
• APPM 3310: Matrix Methods and Applications, Spring 2015
• APPM 3310: Matrix Methods and Applications, Fall 2014
• APPM 2350: Calculus 3 for Engineers, Spring 2014

Service

• Reviewer, Journal of Machine Learning Research: 2024
• Reviewer, Ecology: 2023
• Reviewer, Ecological Modelling: 2021
• PhD student representative, UBC Statistics faculty hiring committee: 2021