Meng (Chris) Qiu
Research Group

The Infinite Modeling Lab

We are a research group at UC Merced, studying flexible models for learning and inference under uncertainty. Our work draws on Bayesian nonparametrics, variational inference, and deep learning, and spans structural equation modeling, missing data, and causal inference — with the goal of building methods that support reliable inference from real-world data.

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Overview

About the lab

The Infinite Modeling Lab (IML) takes its name from a double meaning. "Infinite" points to the infinite-dimensional models at the heart of our work in Bayesian nonparametrics — and to our conviction that good research isn't confined to any single modeling framework. We follow the problem, not the method, drawing on whatever combination of tools it takes to get reliable answers from real data.

The team

People

Principal Investigator

Meng (Chris) Qiu

Meng (Chris) Qiu

Ph.D. Students

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Yanjia Geng

Website

Affiliated Students

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Michelle Franco

Website

Collaborators (A–Z by surname)

Sarah Depaoli, Ph.D., Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced
Fanlin Ding, Ph.D., Department of Public Administration, Nankai University
Shitao Fan, Ph.D., Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland
Fan Jia, Ph.D., Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced
Lizhen Lin, Ph.D., Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland
Haiyan Liu, Ph.D., Department of Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced
Qimin Liu, Ph.D., Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Boston University
Ilsang Ohn, Ph.D., Department of Statistics, Inha University
Sally Paganin, Ph.D., Department of Statistics, The Ohio State University
Yajuan Si, Ph.D., Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Weixin Yao, Ph.D., Department of Statistics, University of California, Riverside
Ke-Hai Yuan, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame
Wenjie Zhao, Ph.D., College of International Development and Global Agriculture, China Agricultural University

Collaborators around the world
UC Merced (home) Collaborating institution
Updates

News

Jul 2026
A short line about a paper accepted, a talk, a new member, or a grant.
May 2026
Another recent update goes here.
Feb 2026
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Openings

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Prospective students & collaborators

I welcome inquiries from prospective Ph.D. students, as well as master's and undergraduate students interested in research assistantships. To make it easy for me to respond, please include your CV and a brief note on your research interests.

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