Dr. Pingzhao Hu is a tenured Associate Professor in bioinformatics and statistical genetics in The University of Manitoba (UM). Prior to joining UM in 2014, Dr. Hu received his PhD in computer science from York University (Canada). His group develops and applies novel deep learning and statistical algorithms for integrative analysis of high-throughput multimodal (genomic and imaging, etc) data to understand the causal association between human genome and phenome for better disease diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Hu has published over 120 peer reviewed scientific articles with over 4500 citations and H-index 31. He is a recent receipt of The Interstellar Initiative Award funded by New York Academy of Sciences and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. He received 2019 Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in Interdisciplinary Category and holds the Manitoba Medical Services Foundation Allen Rouse Basic Science Career Scientist (2020-2023).
The Hu Lab
Bioinformatics and Statistical Genetics
Associate Professor and Manitoba Medical Services Foundation Allen Rouse Basic Science Career Scientist
Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics (BMG), UM
Data Science Platform of George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation, UM
Adjunct Scientist
Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology at CancerCare Manitoba
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) (Adjunct), UM
Department of Computer Science (CS) (Adjunct), UM
Assistant Professor (Status-Only)
Division of Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Training of Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP)
Graduate Students
Md. Mohaiminul Islam
PhD Candidate in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
MSc in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Yang Wang
Recipient of UMGF
Qian Liu
PhD Candidate in Individual Interdisciplinary Studies, Departments of Computer Science and Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, UM
MSc. in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics (BMG), University of Manitoba (UM)
Recipient of the Best Oral Presentation Award in 2019 IEEE 7th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Conference
Recipient of Mindel Rady Olenick Fellowship in Human Genetics
Mohammed Wasif Khan
PhD Candidate in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
MSc in Biotechnology in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India
Yan Sun
PhD Candidate in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
BSc/MSc in Department of Computer Science, Xiamen University, China
Co-supervisor: Dr. Yang Wang
Daryl Fung
MSc Candidate in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
BSc. in Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Carson Leung
Chengyou Liu
MSc Candidate in Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba
B.Eng. in Electronic Information Science and Technology, Xiamen University, China
Co-supervisor: Dr. Bob McLeod
Hafsa Moontari Ali
MSc Candidate in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Yang Wang
Yong Won Jin
MSc. Candidate in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
B.S. with high distinction in Science, University of Toronto
Recipient of 2019 Research Manitoba Master's Studentship Award
Recipient of 2020 President’s Graduate Scholarship in Human Genetics
Zhongyuan Zhang
MSc. in Biostatistics (Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Data Science), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics, University of Waterloo
Co-supervisor: Dr. Wei Xu
Yao Li
PhD. in Biostatistics (Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Data Science), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
B.S. and MSc. in Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Co-supervisor: Dr. Wei Xu
Xu Li
MSc. in Biostatistics (Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Data Science), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics, University of Toronto
Co-supervisor: Dr. Yang Wang
Haiying Zhu
MSc. in Biostatistics (Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Data Science), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
B.S. in Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Co-supervisor: Dr. Yan Cheng
Research Associates
Qin Kuang
MD in Clinical Medicine, Gannan Medical College
Undergraduate Students
Shuangyu Xiong
Data Science, East China Normal University, China
2020 Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Student (remote)
Past Members
Postdoctoral Fellows and Visiting Professors
Dr. Yan Cheng
PhD. in Medical Genetics, Lanzhou University
Visiting Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
Period: Aug 2016 - Aug 2017. Current Position: Associate Professor, Northwest University for Nationalities, China.
Dr. Svetlana Frenkel
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD. in Computational Biology, University of Haifa, Israel
Co-supervisor: Dr. Charles Bernstein
Recipient of “Poster of Distinction” award at 2017 American Gastroenterological Association’s (AGA) Digestive Disease Week
Period: Sep 2016 - Aug 2018. Current Position: Analyst in Department of Agriculture, Manitoba, Canada
Graduate Students (University of Manitoba)
Shuo Jia
B.S. in Life Science, Sichuan University, China
MSc. in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
Period: May 2018 - April 2020. Current Position: AI Software Engineer in Huawei Canada Research Center, Toronto
Rayhan Shikder
B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
MSc. in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Pourang Irani
Period: Sep 2017 - July 2019. Current Position: Software Engineer in Huawei Canada Research Center, Toronto
Qian Liu
B.S. in Medical Imaging, Sichuan University, China
MSc. in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics (BMG), University of Manitoba (UM)
Recipient of the Best Oral Presentation Award in 2019 IEEE 7th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Conference
Period: Sep 2017 - Aug 2019. Current Position: PhD Candidate in Individual Interdisciplinary Studies, Departments of Computer Science and BMG, UM
Nikta Feizi
B.S. in Cell & Molecular Biology, University of Tehran, Iran
MSc.in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
Period: Sep 2017 - Aug 2019. Current Position: Biostatistician at Amaris, Toronto.
Jiaying You
B.S. in Computer Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
MSc in Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Bob McLeod
Period: Sep 2016 - Oct 2018. Current Position: Data Scientist, InVivo AI, Montreal.
B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Chittagong
MSc in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Yang Wang
Recipient of 2016 Manitoba Graduate Scholarship
Period: Aug 2016 - Dec 2017. Current Position: PhD Candidate, Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
B.S. in Computer Science, Islamic University of Technology
MSc. in Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Co-supervisor: Dr. Michael Domaratzki
Period: Sep 2015 - Sep 2017. Current Position: Software Engineer in Winnipeg City Hall (City of Winnipeg)
B.S. in Biology, University of British Columbia
MSc. in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
Recipient of 2016-2017 Nancie J. Mauro Graduate Scholarship in Oncology Research
Recipient of 2016 Charles J. Epstein Trainee Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research – Semifinalist from ASHG
Recipient of Mindel and Tom Olenick Research Studentship in Medicine
Recipient of Phyllis J. McAlpine Graduate Fellowship
Period: May 2015 - June 2017. Current Position: Analyst in Department of Agriculture, Manitoba
Kaiqiong Zhao
B.S. in Statistics, Beijing Institute of Technology
MSc. in Bioinformatics in Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, University of Manitoba
Period: Sep 2014 - Aug 2016. Current Position: PhD candidate in biostatistics in McGill University
Shujun Huang
PhD candidate in Pharmacy, University of Manitoba
Supervisor: Dr. Ted Lakowski
My role is in project-based supervision on bioinformatics
Period: May 2018 - March 2020. Current Position: Research Programmer in BC Cancer Genome Science Center, Vancouver
Graduate Students (University of Toronto)
Bowen Cheng
B.S. in Statistics, University of Toronto
MSc. in Biostatistics (Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Data Science), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Period: September 2019 - August 2020
Andrew Tran
B.S. in Medical Sciences, University of Western Ontario
MSc. in Biostatistics (Emphasis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Data Science), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Co-supervisor: Dr. Claudia DosSantos
Period: September 2019 - August 2020
Jiahui Zhang
B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics, University of Waterloo
MSc. in Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Co-supervisor: Dr. Wei Xu
Period: Sep 2017 - July 2019. Current Position: PhD Candidate in Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Fei Zuo
B.S. in Genetics, University of Toronto
MSc. in Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Co-supervisor: Dr. Wei Xu
Period: Sep 2018 - July 2019. Current Position: Research Biostatistician in St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto
Wenxin Jiang
B.Eng. in Electronic Information Engineering, Bei Hang University, China
MSc. in Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Co-supervisor: Dr. Wei Xu
Period: Sep 2016 - July 2017. Current Position: Analyst in Canadian Institute for Health Information, Toronto
Bingqing Shen
B.S. in Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
MSc. in Biostatistics, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Period: Oct 2015 - Jan 2016. Current Position: Information Management Analyst position in Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto
Chris Walsh
PhD candidate in Medicine, University of Toronto
Supervisor: Dr. Claudia Santos
My role is in project-based supervision on bioinformatics
Period: Feb 2014 - Jul 2019. Current Position: Respirologist at Toronto East Health Network
Peiran Jiang
Bioinformatics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China
Recipient of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award
Winner of Best Basic Research Presentation at 2019 CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute Summer Student Symposium
Summer research published on Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal as a first author
2019 Summer undergraduate student
Zexuan Sun
Statistics and Mathematics, Wuhan University, China
Recipient of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award
Summer research published on Bioinformatics as a first author
2019 Summer undergraduate student
Xinyu Hou
Automation, Beijing Institute of Technology, China
Recipient of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award
Recipient of the Best Paper Presentation Award (summer research) in 11th International Conference on Machine Learning and Computing
2018 Summer undergraduate student. Current Position: PhD candidate in Engineering Science in University of Oxford, UK
Linfan Zhang
Statistics, Zhejiang University, China
Recipient of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award
Summer research published on Frontiers in Genetics as a first author.
2016 Summer undergraduate student. Current Position: PhD candidate in Statistics in University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Masami Ando Kuri
Genome Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México UNAM
Recipient of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award
2015 Summer undergraduate student, Current Position: PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, Emory University, USA
Xiaohui Ding
Mathematics and Statistics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Recipient of Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Award
2015 Summer undergraduate student. Current Position: MSc student in Data Mining in Nanjing University, China
Yolanda Ding
Medical Science, University of Western Ontario
2020 Undergraduate Summer Studentship Award from CHI
Period: May 2020 - August 2020
Yun Xu
Neuroscience and Statistics, University of Toronto
2020 Undergraduate Summer Studentship Award from RIOH
Current Position: MSc student in biostatistics, University of Toronto
Period: September 2019 - August 2020
Daryl Fung (Co-supervised with Carson Kai-Sang Leung)
Honours Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Honour Thesis Project Student
Period: May 2020 - August 2020
Judah Zammit (Co-supervised with Carson Kai-Sang Leung)
Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Industrial project student Student
Period: May 2020 - August 2020
Lukas Timmerman (Co-supervised with Dr. Silvia Cardona and Dr. Rebecca Davis)
Co-op Undergraduate Student in Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Period: September 2019 - April 2020
Allan Bruinooge
Honours Bachelor of Science in Genetics, University of Manitoba
Honour Thesis Project Student
Period: September 2019 - August 2020
Lourens Jacobs
BSc Medicine, University of Manitoba
BSc Med Summer Studentship
Period: May 2018 - August 2019.
Katerina (Christiana) Cholakis
Mathematics and Biology, St. Olaf College, USA
2019 Summer undergraduate student.
Period: May 2019 - August 2019.
Liam Grenier
Bachelor of Science, University of Manitoba
Undergraduate Summer Studentship Award from CHRIM
2018 Summer undergraduate student. Curent Position: Medical school student in University of Manitoba
Summer research published on Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal as a first author.
Nikho Hizon
Honours Bachelor of Science in Genetics, University of Manitoba
Period: September 2016 - August 2017. Current Position: MSc candidate in Medical Genetics in University of Manitoba
Huyen Le (Co-supervised with Dr. Yang Wang)
Math and Statistics, University of Manitoba
2015 Summer undergraduate student. Now at Field Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, University of Toronto
Jessica Bondoc (Co-supervised with Dr. Kevin Coombs)
Statistics and Computer Science, University of Manitoba
Recipient of CIHR Computational Biology Undergraduate Summer Student Health Research Award, 2015
Period: May 2015 - Apr 2016
Research Associates and Co-op Students
Philippe Simon
PhD in Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba
Supervisor: Dr. Darwyn Kobasa. My role is in project-based supervision on bioinformatics
Period: 2014-2015. Current Position: Medical student at University Laval
Justin Zhang (Co-supervised with Dr. Ron Beavis)
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University
B.S. in Bioinformatics, Simon Fraser University
Bioinformatician. Period: 2014-2015, now at Cancer Care Manitoba
Cynthia Kpekpen (Co-supervised with Dr. Lisa Lix)
MSc. in Statistics, University of Manitoba
Summer Student in 2014