Jeremy Balka

Education and Employment Background

Dr. Jeremy Balka received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Guelph in 2005. He joined the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Guelph in 2007, where he is now an Associate Professor.

Research Themes 

Balka is a teaching focused faculty member, which means that most of his time is spent teaching courses in statistics and developing new resources to help students learn. In traditional research, he focuses on cure rate modelling in survival analysis. Balka’s key areas of interest include:

1. Teaching and learning. Balka has created more than 100 YouTube videos on topics in statistics, which are accessed by many people around the world. (His YouTube channel has over 150k subscribers.) He is a strong believer in providing learning resources for free when possible, and values contributing to the growing body of free high-quality resources that are available online.
2. Cure rate modelling in survival analysis. Balka models time-to-event data where a proportion of the population will never experience the event. This research has important applications in many areas, including medicine, engineering, and manufacturing.
3. Financial statistics and risk management. Balka investigates strategies for achieving an appropriate risk/reward balance in betting and investing.

Highlights 

Major funding, Awards, National or International Recognition, Prestigious affiliations, Memberships on editorial boards or societies

• Country coordinator for the International Statistical Literacy Project, 2016
• Statistical Society of Canada, Statistics Education Committee Chair, 2015, 2016
• Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Guelph Faculty Association, 2013

Media Coverage

Educational Resources

• The Daily Orange: YouTube’s education initiative won’t change higher education

Awards and Accolades

• University of Guelph Faculty Association: 2012 UGFA Teaching Award Winners Announced