Jiayao (Claris) Gu
PhD Candidate in AI Research
Specializing in Generative AI and Large Language Models for AI4Science at Mila – Quebec AI Institute. Co-first author with Yoshua Bengio on model-based optimization (TMLR 2026, Survey Certificate).
Education
Mila - Quebec AI Institute / McGill University
Sep 2024 – Present
Ph.D. Computer Science (GPA: 3.86/4.0)
Supervisor: Prof. Yue Li (homepage)
DNA2RNA Scholar Award ($27,000) — top recognition for genomic-based therapeutics research
McGill University
Sep 2022 – Sep 2024
M.Sc. Bioinformatics
FRQNT Research Scholarship ($26,666) — recognizing top Quebec graduate students
Graduate Excellence Award ($33,000)
McGill University
Sep 2018 – Apr 2022
B.Sc. Computer Science and Biology
Dean's Honour List (Top 10% of faculty)
Research Interests
Generative AI
Large Language Models
AI for Science
Biological Language Models
Model-Based Optimization
Scientific Agents
Computational Biology
Deep Learning
Experience
Mila - Quebec AI Institute
Jan 2024 – Present
Graduate Researcher · Montreal, Quebec
• Leading research and development on biological language models
• Leading research in biological sequence and structure prediction and generation
• Leading scientific agent development
Featured Publications
ICML 2026 Spotlight
TMLR 2025 — Survey Certificate Award
ICML 2025 Workshop
Journal of Clinical Oncology 2024
Selected Awards
DNA2RNA Scholar Award
$27,000
FRQNT Research Scholarship
$26,666
Graduate Excellence Award
$33,000