I am working as an associate professor in statistics and data science in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). Prior to joining TRU, I served as an assistant professor in the Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough. I hold a PhD in statistics with a specialization in statistical machine learning from the Department of Statistics, at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Additionally, I have earned two MSc degrees: one in statistics from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Windsor, and another in Biostatistics from the Department of Statistics at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

My research interests include statistical machine learning, Bayesian statistical inference, and statistical ecology. The primary focus of my research is on developing ensemble methods to enhance predictive performance by leveraging the richness of informative variables in high-dimensional data and identifying key models and variables to address critical research questions. I have applied these ensemble methods to (i) drug discovery, for detecting drug-like active bio-molecules to support drug development efforts, and (ii) protein homology, to identify homologous proteins and generate evolutionary sequences of proteins. Currently, my work is increasingly focused on developing Bayesian and computational models for applications in ecology, healthcare, the housing market, and genetics data.

Highlighted Publications

  • Tomal, JH., Welch, WJ., and Zamar, RH. (2023). Robust ranking by ensembling of diverse models and assessment metrics. Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation (Taylor & Francis). 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/00949655.2022.2093873
  • Tomal, JH., Khan, JR., and Wahed, A. (2022). Weighted Bayesian Poisson Regression for The Number of Children Ever Born per Woman in Bangladesh. Journal of Statistical Theory and Applications (Springer). 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44199-022-00044-2
  • Atkins, M., Howarth, C., Russello, M., Tomal, JH., and Larsen, K. (2022). Evidence of intrapopulation differences in rattlesnake defensive behavior across neighboring habitats. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (Springer). 76(3): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03100-6
  • Tomal, JH., and Rahman, H. (2021). A Bayesian piecewise linear model for the detection of breakpoints in housing prices. METRON (Springer). 79(3): 361-381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40300-021-00223-8
  • Tomal, JH., Rahmati, S., Boroushaki, S., Jin, L., and Ahmed, E. (2021) The Impact of COVID-19 on Students’ Marks: A Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling Approach. METRON (Springer). 79: 57-91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40300-021-00200-1
  • Tomal, JH., and Ciborowski, JJH. (2020) Ecological Models for Estimating Breakpoints and Prediction Intervals. Ecology and Evolution (Wiley). 10:13500– 13517. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6955
  • Evans, M., and Tomal, JH. (2018). Measuring Statistical Evidence and Multiple Testing. FACETS. 3: 563-583. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2017-0121
  • Tomal, JH., Welch, WJ., and Zamar, RH. (2016). Exploiting Multiple Descriptor Sets in QSAR Studies. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. 56(3):501-509. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.5b00663
  • Tomal, JH., Welch, WJ., and Zamar, RH. (2015). Ensembling Classification Models Based on Phalanxes of Variables with Applications in Drug Discovery. The Annals of Applied Statistics, 9(1): 69-93. https://doi.org/10.1214/14-AOAS778

Education

Employment History

  • Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Thompson Rivers University (Jul 2023 - )
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Thompson Rivers University (Dec 2018 - Jun 2023)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough (2014 - 2018)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Jan 2014 - Jul 2014)
Full Resume