Actively seeking: Research Assistant roles, internships during my Ph.D., and job placements after graduation!
Sho Sakai, a Ph.D. student in the Mathematics Degree Program, Degree Programs in Pure and Applied Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba.

My research focuses on high-dimensional statistical analysis, with interests extending beyond theoretical development to applications involving real-world data and decision-making processes.

I host a podcast titled “Data Science LG: Learning Together in Statistics and Data Science”, where we explore topics such as statistics, machine learning, and academic careers from the perspective of students and researchers. The podcast is available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music. For more details, please see the Community / Podcast section below.

I share my research findings and code on GitHub, and post about education, research, and personal experiences on note.

I am also involved in advocacy to raise awareness about hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, sharing my experience as a donor and promoting donor registration through talks and outreach activities. Through these efforts, I aim to help bridge the gap between healthcare and society.

Keywords

High-Dimensional StatisticsHDLSS (High-Dimensional Low Sample Size)Hypothesis TestingDimensionality Reduction (PCA, PLS, CCA, ICA)Statistical Causal DiscoveryEmbedding Techniques (e.g., Text Embedding, Bioinformatics)Materials InformaticsAstronomyOpen Science

Table of Contents

Skill

Speech

Sho Sakai, Kazuyoshi Yata, and Makoto Aoshima, “Hypothesis testing for PCR coefficients in high-dimensional data”, The Mathematical Society of Japan Annual Meeting, Tokyo, Japan, Oral Presentation, March 21, 2025.

View Program

Sho Sakai, “Hypothesis testing for PCR coefficients in high-dimensional data”, Seminars by Alumnae/Alumni of Kagoshima University on their Recent Achievements 2025, Kagoshima, Japan, Oral Presentation, March 11, 2025.

View Program

Education

2025 – 2028 (expected)

University of Tsukuba

Ph.D. in Mathematics, Graduate School of Science, Degree Programs in Pure and Applied Sciences

Advisor: Aoshima Laboratory

2023 – 2025

University of Tsukuba

M.Sc. in Mathematics, Graduate School of Science, Degree Programs in Pure and Applied Sciences

Advisor: Aoshima Laboratory

2019 – 2023

Kagoshima University

B.Sc. in Mathematics and Informatics, Faculty of Science, Mathematics and Informatics Program

Advisor: Yoshida Laboratory (2022–2023)

Experience

Apr. 2025 – Mar. 2028

Next-Generation AI Human Resource Development Program Fellow JST BOOST initiative, University of Tsukuba

Selected for the University of Tsukuba's Next-Generation AI Talent Development Program. This initiative, part of a national strategy to foster doctoral students, supports 600 students across Japan. The University of Tsukuba has a quota of 12 students, and I was chosen as one of them through a highly competitive internal selection process. Receiving support for living expenses and research funds, I am able to fully dedicate myself to theoretical and applied research in high-dimensional statistics. I plan to actively pursue collaborations with fields such as bioinformatics, materials science, and astronomy.

Apr. 2024 – (Chair: Apr. 2025 –)

Chair & Technical Assistant User Committee, Department of Mathematics, University of Tsukuba

Appointed chair and technical assistant of the graduate student user committee for computing services, supporting computational infrastructure and student system administration.

Dec. 2023 / Dec. 2024

International Symposium Staff International Symposiums on Large Complex Data

Contributed to the 2023 International Symposium on Recent Advances in Theories and Methodologies for Large Complex Data and the 2024 International Symposium on Theories, Methodologies and Applications for Large Complex Data. Reported each activity on LinkedIn.

Jul. 2023 / Jul. 2024

Staff, Mathematics Trial Program University of Tsukuba

Served as staff for the undergraduate mathematics experience program in July 2023 and July 2024.

Intern

Nospare Inc.
Dec. 2024 –
Ongoing internship at a data science company. Planned and hosted seminars on statistics and data science. Collaborated with cross-functional teams to create educational content.

Research Assistant

University laboratory

Oct. 2023 - Nov. 2024

Award

Community / Podcast

Nospare Student Community

2024 -

I lead the design and management of study group templates, including topics such as multivariate analysis, reinforcement learning, Gaussian processes, and Bayesian deep learning. I also participate in the practical machine learning study group.

I host a podcast titled 'Data Science LG: Learning Together in Statistics and Data Science', where we explore topics such as statistics, machine learning, and academic careers from the perspective of students and researchers. The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube, and Amazon Music.

For an overview of our podcast activities and related information, please visit the Notion page below:

Tsukuba Graduate Students' Network

2024 -

I am a general member of this graduate student community and started a podcast initiative within the group.

Outreach / Public Engagement

Blood donation
2018 –
Bone Marrow Bank Youth Ambassador
2024 –

I engage in activities to share information about hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and promote donor registration. If you're interested in inviting a speaker or organizing a promotional booth about the Japan Marrow Donor Program at your school, university, or organization, please reach out. We can coordinate with the Japan Marrow Donor Program directly. To increase the number of young bone marrow donors, I believe it is important to share the voices of those who have actually donated and their families.

Teaching Assistant

Statistical Exercise
Fall 2023, Fall 2024
Computer Exercise
Fall 2023, Fall 2024
Computer Mathematics I
Spring 2024
Linear Algebra I
Spring 2024

Qualification / Test Score

Japanese High School Teacher’s License (Information & Mathematics)

Mar. 2023

Japanese Junior High School Teacher’s License (Mathematics)

Mar. 2023

Academic Society

Portfolio

Master's Thesis / Hypothesis testing for PCR coefficients in high-dimensional data (JSS NEWS)

Introduced in JAPAN STATISTICAL SOCIETY NEWS (April 20, 2025, No.203, Section 9: p.15).

Master's Thesis / Hypothesis testing for PCR coefficients in high-dimensional data (Mathematics Communication)

Featured in Mathematical Society of Japan's 'Mathematics Communication' (Volume 30, No.1, May 2025) in the section '2024 Master's and Doctoral Theses'.

Graduation Thesis / Asymptotic Theory of Principal Component Analysis

Related repository link available above.

Updated on Nov 23, 2024

Asymptotic Theory of PCA

R

R code and mathematical notes on asymptotic properties of PCA under large-sample settings.

Updated on Nov 23, 2024

T.W. Anderson (2003) PCA Confirmatory Analysis

R

Reimplementation of confirmatory PCA methods from Anderson's 2003 paper.

Updated on Nov 23, 2024

T.W. Anderson (2003) Hypothesis Testing

R

Reproduction of hypothesis testing framework for PCA from Anderson (2003).

Updated on Nov 23, 2024

Principal Component Analysis

Jupyter NotebookR

Notebooks to demonstrate PCA using both synthetic and real-world data. Implementations are available in Jupyter (Python) and R.

Updated on Nov 23, 2024

Conditional Probability and Multiplication Theorem

LaTeX

A TeX document that explains the relationship between conditional probability and multiplication rule.

Updated on Nov 23, 2024

PRML with Python

Jupyter Notebook

Selected implementations and exercises based on 'Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning' (Bishop).

Updated on Nov 1, 2023

Causal Inference

PythonJupyter Notebook

Jupyter notebooks exploring potential outcome frameworks and causal graphs.

Updated on Jul 26, 2023

Programming with R, C, and Python

RCPython

Introductory examples in multiple languages for basic computational logic and syntax.

Updated on Apr 19, 2023

Transformation of Matrix

Utility scripts and explanations for matrix operations and transformations.

Updated on Feb 2, 2023