Joining the Lab

Postdoctoral Fellows

Methodological and Theoretical Advances in AI Safety, Uncertainty Quantification, and Reasoning in LLMs
I am looking for a postdoctoral fellow who will lead research on methodological and theoretical advances at the intersection of AI safety, uncertainty quantification, and reasoning in large language models. I seek highly motivated applicants with significant experience working with large language models and in one or more of the following areas: uncertainty quantification, interpretability, probabilistic machine learning. Successful applicants will be strong technically and have an interest in safety and security issues in large language models. I am looking for applicants with strong research skills, ideally, with multiple publications at top venues in machine learning and natural language processing (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, NAACL, AISTATS, UAI). Candidates must have a PhD or equivalent degree in computer science, statistics, or a closely related field. Strong programming skills and experience with large language models are required.

Application Process

The start date for the position will be in summer/fall 2026. Prospective applicants are highly encouraged to apply both directly to me and thorugh the Vector Institute

Step 1: Direct Application

Applications can be submitted via this form. Applicants must submit all of the following documents:

1. Curriculum vitae
2. Two representative publications (preprints are acceptable)
3. Statement of research (2 pages) describing prior research experience and future research plans
4. Link to Github account
5. 2-3 letters of recommendation (which will be solicited after the initial review)

Applicants are encouraged to email me after submitting their application.

Step 2: Application for External Funding

While I have funding to host postdoctoral fellows, prospective applicants are highly encouraged to also apply for a Fields Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship.

≫ Deadline: January 31, 2026 (still open for submissions)

PhD Students

There are two main avenues through which I advise PhD students: PhD programs at the University of Toronto and DPhil programs at the University of Oxford. I will primarily recruit students at the University of Toronto and only take on 0-2 new students at Oxford each year.

Note: Prospective applicants are highly encouraged to apply for external funding. Receiving external funding significantly increases the chances of admission. For a list of external funding sources, see this spreadsheet.

Option 1: PhD at the University of Toronto

I’m an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and I hold appointments in both the Department of Statistical Sciences and the Department of Computer Science. I can advise students in either department.

I’m also a faculty member of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and all of my students are automatically affiliated with the Vector Institute.

Note: Prospective applicants are encouraged to apply to both the PhD program in Statistics and in CS.

PhD in Statistics

For information about the PhD in Statistics, see here.

If you want to select me as a potential advisor, please specify my name on the application form. I am generally open to co-advising students with other faculty members in the Department of Statistical Sciences. Faculty members with shared research interests include: Wenlong Mou, Daniel Roy, Chris Maddison, Daniel Duvenaud, Roger Grosse, and Dehan Kong, among others.

Timeline: Applications will be reviewed in December to January. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be conducted in January to February.

Note: Prospective applicants who hold Canadian citizenship are highly encouraged to apply to this program.

≫ Status: Applications Closed (Deadline was November 22, 2025.)

PhD in Computer Science

For information about the PhD in Computer Science, see here.

If you’re applying to the PhD program in Computer Science at the University of Toronto and would like to select me as a potential advisor, please select “Other” on the supervisor list and specify my name.

Timeline: Applications will be reviewed in December to January. Interviews with shortlisted candidates will be conducted in January to February.

Note: Prospective applicants are encouraged to identify potential co-advisors in the Department of Computer Science. Faculty members with shared research interests include: Chris Maddison, Sheila McIlraith, Colin Raffel, Nicolas Papernot, Roger Grosse, Zhijing Jin, and David Duvenaud, among others.

≫ Status: Applications Closed (Deadline was December 1, 2025.)

Option 2: DPhil at the University of Oxford

I’m an Associate Member of the Department of Computer Science and a Faculty Affiliate at the Oxford Martin School AI Governance Initiative (AIGI).

I co-advise DPhil students in the AIMS CDT as well as in the direct-entry DPhil programs in Computer Science and in Engineering Science. For applicants to the AIMS CDT or direct-entry DPhil programs, I highly recommend also applying for the Oxford AI Governance Initiative (AIGI) studentship and mentioning me as a potential co-supervisor.

Note: Prospective applicants are encouraged to apply through the AIMS CDT and mention me as a potential advisor in their application. Since I am primarily based in Toronto, I only co-advise students at Oxford, and prospective applicants must have a co-advisor alongside me. Students accepted into the AIMS CDT program can use the first year of the program to identify a co-advisor, but I recommend mentioning 1-2 additional Oxford faculty in the application. Oxford faculty members with shared research interests include: Phil Torr, Michael Osborne, Robert Trager, Christian Schroeder de Witt, Fazl Barez, Jakob Foerster, Chris Holmes, Yee Whye Teh, and Yarin Gal, among others.

≫ Status: Applications Closed (Deadline was March 3, 2026.)

Visiting Researchers

I occasionally host visiting researchers from other institutions. I only host graduate students from other institutions and experienced researchers (with rare exceptions). The best way to work with me as a visitor is through the Vector Institute Research Internship Program.

Interested students are encouraged to email me to express their interest. The email should include a CV, a description of research interests, and links to 2-3 representative papers.

≫ Status: Applications Closed (Deadline was January 12, 2026.)

Undergraduate and Master’s Research Assistants

I welcome expressions of interest from exceptionally well-prepared undergraduate and master’s students at the University of Toronto to contribute to research projects in my group. To make a meaningful contribution, a minimal commitment of 10h/week is expected and a commitment of 15-20h/week (or more) is preferred. Students do not need to have prior research experience but are expected to have strong programming skills and solid foundations in machine learning and mathematics and, ideally, in statistics.

≫ If you would like to work with my group: Please fill out this form.