About
Hi there! I’m Chaya Weerasinghe. I am a Research Fellow (Bayesian Statistics) at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne.
I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University, under the supervision of Emeritus Professor Gael M. Martin, Dr. Ruben Loaiza-Maya and Professor David T. Frazier.
My doctoral research, Inference and Prediction in misspecified models focuses on inference and prediction under model misspecification, with particular emphasis on applications in finance and macroeconomics. This work examines the impact of model misspecification on statistical inference and forecasting, and develops novel methodologies to address the challenges it presents. Broadly, my research interests include model misspecification, Bayesian inference and forecasting, and Approximate Bayesian methods.
My current research focuses on the development of Bayesian methods for infectious disease research, with a particular emphasis on clinical trials and controlled human infection models.
In addition to my research, I have experience teaching econometrics and statistics at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Education
Ph.D. in Econometrics (2021 - 2025) Monash University, Australia
B.Sc.(Hons) in Statistics (2015 - 2019) University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka
Research Interests
- Bayesian Inference and Forecasting
- Model Misspecification
- Approximate Bayesian Methods
- Econometrics
- Time Series Analysis