Yuchen Hu

Hi! I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at Columbia University. My research focuses on guiding data-driven decision-making in complex environments using tools from causal inference and decision theory. Much of my research is motivated by applications in digital platforms and healthcare systems.

Before joining Columbia, I was a Postdoctoral Associate in the MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, working with Professors Stephen Bates and Martin Wainwright. I received my PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2025, where I was fortunate to be advised by Professor Stefan Wager.

Always happy to discuss methodological questions and applications related to causal inference! I’m also looking for PhD students with a background in statistics or econometrics, or who are interested in developing one. Prospective students can find information about applying to Columbia Engineering here.

Research

Causal Inference and Experimental Design

  • Spectral Design of Random-Duration Switchbacks. [arxiv]
    Yuchen Hu.
  • Optimal Targeting in Dynamic Systems. [arxiv]
    Yuchen Hu, Shuangning Li, Stefan Wager.
  • Switchback Experiments under Geometric Mixing. [arxiv]
    Yuchen Hu, Stefan Wager.
    Management Science, forthcoming.
  • Estimating Treatment Effects under Recommender Interference: A Structured Neural Networks Approach. [arxiv]
    Ruohan Zhan, Shichao Han, Yuchen Hu, Zhenling Jiang.
    Preliminary version accepted by ACM Conference on Economics and Computation (EC), 2024.
  • Minimax-Regret Sample Selection in Randomized Experiments. [arxiv]
    Yuchen Hu, Henry Zhu, Emma Brunskill, Stefan Wager.
    ACM Conference on Economics and Computation (EC), 2024.
    Winner, Decision Analysis Society (DAS) Student Paper Award, 2024.
  • Off-Policy Evaluation in Partially Observed Markov Decision Processes under Sequential Ignorability. [paper, arxiv, replication]
    Yuchen Hu, Stefan Wager.
    Annals of Statistics, 51(4), 2023.
  • Average Direct and Indirect Causal Effects under Interference. [paper, arxiv]
    Yuchen Hu, Shuangning Li, Stefan Wager.
    Biometrika, 109(4), 2022.

Data-Driven Mechanism and Information Design

  • Calibrating Mechanisms with Delayed Evidence. [extended abstract]
    Yuchen Hu, Stephen Bates, Martin J. Wainwright.
    Extended abstract accepted at the NeurIPS 2026 Workshop on ML×OR.
  • Buying Data of Unknown Quality: Fisher Information Procurement Auctions. [arxiv]
    Yuchen Hu, Martin J. Wainwright, Stephen Bates.

Applied and Collaborative Research

  • Analysis of the Privacy-Performance Tradeoff of Reference Testing in Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy. [paper]
    Yuchen Hu, Lawrence M. Wein.
    Journal of Forensic Sciences, 69(5), 2024.
  • Comparison of Empirical and Dynamic Models for HIV Viral Load Rebound after Treatment Interruption. [paper]
    Ante Bing*, Yuchen Hu*, Melanie Prague, Alison L. Hill, Jonathan Z. Li, Ronald J. Bosch, Victor DeGruttola, Rui Wang.
    Statistical Communications in Infectious Diseases, 12(s1), 2020.
  • A Flexible Nonlinear Mixed Effects Model for HIV Viral Load Rebound after Treatment Interruption. [paper]
    Rui Wang, Ante Bing, Cathy Wang, Yuchen Hu, Ronald J. Bosch, Victor DeGruttola.
    Statistics in Medicine, 39(15), 2020.
  • Impact of Changes in Chain Restaurant Calories over Time on Obesity Risk. [paper]
    Sara N. Bleich, Jesse C. Jones-Smith, Marian P. Jarlenski, Julia A. Wolfson, Johannah M. Frelier, Huiru Tao, Yuchen Hu, Anna Zink, Caroline G. Dunn, Mark J. Soto, Bradley J. Herring.
    Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(6), 2020.

Teaching