Quang Vuong

Statistics master's student in the Faculty of Science

Tell us a little about yourself, including what inspires you to learn and continue in your chosen field

I am a precise and logical thinker, so statistics is a calling for me. I am also excited to apply my skills to answer real-world questions that can make a positive impact on many lives. Therefore, I decided to pursue a career in biostatistics.

Why did you choose to come to SFU?

I wanted a change of environment from my undergrad, and I have heard good things about SFU's involvement with the community and job placements.

How would you describe your research or your program to a family member?

Right now, I'm focused on variable selection. In short, you have a response variable that you care about the most, and you want to find out what other variables are important in explaining this response variable. You would want to have this knowledge to build better models of the response variable in the future. My MSc project is essentially evaluating the performance of a particular variable selection method under different conditions.

What three (3) keywords would you use to describe your research?

Bayesian model averaging, linear mixed-effects models, annealed sequential Monte Carlo

How have your courses, RA-ships, TA-ships, or non-academic school experiences contributed to your academic and/or professional development?

The MSc in Statistics program at SFU has provided me a lot of opportunities to improve at being a statistician. The mandatory courses gave me a solid theoretical foundation to understand many different statistical methods, and the co-op program allowed me to work at Health Canada for a summer, where I could practice looking at real health data and analyzing it properly with the help of my supervisors.

Have you been the recipient of any major or donor-funded awards? If so, please tell us which ones and a little about how the awards have impacted your studies and/or research

I have received the NSERC CGS-M for the 2023-2024 academic year. It allows me to focus more in my research.