Related papers: Stochastic Approximation and Modern Model-Based De…
We present new algorithms and fast implementations to find efficient approximations for modelling stochastic processes. For many numerical computations it is essential to develop finite approximations for stochastic processes. While the…
Stochastic modeling of gene expression is a classic problem in theoretical biophysics, and the burst approximation is widely used to simplify gene expression models formulated via the chemical master equation. However, the approximation…
Causal inference methods (instrumental variables, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, etc.) are primary tools used across many social science milieus. One area where their application has lagged however, is in the study of…
A stochastic ordering approach is applied with Stein's method for approximation by the equilibrium distribution of a birth-death process. The usual stochastic order and the more general s-convex orders are discussed. Attention is focused on…
Motivated by the goal of improving the efficiency of small sample design, we propose a novel Bayesian stochastic approximation method to estimate the root of a regression function. The method features adaptive local modelling and…
Dose-finding trials are a key component of the drug development process and rely on a statistical design to help inform dosing decisions. Triallists wishing to choose a design require knowledge of operating characteristics of competing…
We study the problem of finding the optimal dosage in early stage clinical trials through the multi-armed bandit lens. We advocate the use of the Thompson Sampling principle, a flexible algorithm that can accommodate different types of…
The stochastic nature of chemical reactions involving randomly fluctuating population sizes has lead to a growing research interest in discrete-state stochastic models and their analysis. A widely-used approach is the description of the…
The subject of stochastic approximation was founded by Robbins and Monro [Ann. Math. Statist. 22 (1951) 400--407]. After five decades of continual development, it has developed into an important area in systems control and optimization, and…
In this paper, we consider convex stochastic optimization problems arising in machine learning applications (e.g., risk minimization) and mathematical statistics (e.g., maximum likelihood estimation). There are two main approaches to solve…
We consider the problem of estimating a dose-response curve. Continuous treatments arise often in practice, e.g. in the form of time spent on an operation, distance traveled to a location or dosage of a drug. Letting $A$ denote a continuous…
Phase II dose finding studies in clinical drug development are typically conducted to adequately characterize the dose response relationship of a new drug. An important decision is then on the choice of a suitable dose response function to…
Improving efficiency of importance sampler is at the center of research in Monte Carlo methods. While adaptive approach is usually difficult within the Markov Chain Monte Carlo framework, the counterpart in importance sampling can be…
A practical introduction to stochastic modelling of reaction-diffusion processes is presented. No prior knowledge of stochastic simulations is assumed. The methods are explained using illustrative examples. The article starts with the…
When estimating causal effects using observational data, it is desirable to replicate a randomized experiment as closely as possible by obtaining treated and control groups with similar covariate distributions. This goal can often be…
It has been found that stochastic algorithms often find good solutions much more rapidly than inherently-batch approaches. Indeed, a very useful rule of thumb is that often, when solving a machine learning problem, an iterative technique…
Statistical methodology for the design and analysis of clinical Phase II dose response studies, with related software implementation, are well developed for the case of a normally distributed, homoscedastic response considered for a single…
This work develops new results for stochastic approximation algorithms. The emphases are on treating algorithms and limits with discontinuities. The main ingredients include the use of differential inclusions, set-valued analysis, and…
The classical approach to system identification is based on stochastic assumptions about the measurement error, and provides estimates that have random nature. Worst-case identification, on the other hand, only assumes the knowledge of…
The positivity assumption is central in the identification of a causal effect, and especially the stochastic variant is an issue many applied researchers face, yet is rarely discussed, especially in conjunction with continuous treatments or…