Dr Shirley Xiaoqi Liu

Postdoctoral Researcher

About Me

I am a postdoc working with Professor Patrick Rebeschini. My research focuses on machine learning theory and statistical learning, with particular emphasis on heterogeneous data settings.

I have recently been working on two main problems: (i) designing and analysing algorithms for online learning where data arrives sequentially and evolves over time; (ii) I study the training dynamics of popular machine learning architectures such as neural networks and attention mechanisms, particularly how they behave under challenging conditions like non-stationarity, contamination, and distribution shifts. I am especially interested in understanding phenomena such as benign overfitting, early stopping, and in-context learning with data heterogeneity.

I completed my PhD at Cambridge in 2024, where I was advised by Professor Ramji Venkataramanan. My PhD work centered on information theory and statistical learning, motivated by fundamental questions such as: Given a complex statistical estimation problem, what is the minimal amount of data we need to estimate the underlying signal? Can we design polynomial-time, mathematically-principled algorithms that approach the minimum?

Research Interests

  • Data heterogeneity: non-stationarity, contamination, and distribution shifts
  • General first-order methods, e.g., gradient descent, approximate message passing
  • Online learning and bandits
  • Information theory and communication systems

Publications

Contact Details

Email: shirley.liu@stats.ox.ac.uk

Office:

Pronouns: she/her

Research Groups

Learning theory