ICLR 2026
DAK-UCB: Diversity-Aware Prompt Routing for LLMs and Generative Models
International Conference on Learning Representations
University of Toronto · Toronto, Canada
Donya Jafari
PhD student in Operations Research
I study machine learning and sequential decision-making, with interests in multi-armed bandits, online learning, reinforcement learning, and optimization.
I am a PhD student at the University of Toronto, supervised by Prof. Peyman Mohajerin Esfahani. I received my BSc in Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in July 2026.
View my CV
Publication
Research
My research experience spans bandit algorithms, recommender systems, diffusion models, and optimal transport.
AlphaBrain
Apr. – Aug. 2026Research Intern · Maastricht, Netherlands
Studied optimal transport using inverse optimization, supervised by Prof. Angelos Georghiou and Prof. Peyman Mohajerin Esfahani.
Adversarial Attacks on Logged Bandits
Oct. 2025 – Mar. 2026Bachelor’s thesis · Sharif University of Technology
Supervised by Dr. Amir Najafi.
Recommender systems
Mar. – Sept. 2025Undergraduate Research Collaborator · Remote
Supervised by Prof. Vahideh Manshadi (Yale) and Prof. Negin Golrezaei (MIT).
Multi-armed bandit algorithms
Feb. – Aug. 2025Undergraduate Researcher · The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Supervised by Prof. Farzan Farnia.
Real-image inpainting with diffusion models
July 2024 – Apr. 2025Research Assistant · DML Lab
Supervised by Prof. Hamid R. Rabiee.
Quera
Apr. – July 2024Machine Learning Intern · Tehran, Iran
Applied data analysis and implemented deep learning architectures for practical tasks.
Teaching
University of Toronto
Sept. 2026 – PresentHead Teaching Assistant · MIE370: Introduction to Machine Learning
I coordinate the teaching assistant team and lead tutorial sessions.
Sharif University of Technology
2023 – 2026Teaching Assistant
Probability and Statistics (Project Head Teaching Assistant), Numerical Computation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Linear Algebra, Fundamentals of Programming, Object-Oriented Programming, and Digital Logic Design.
Beyond research
I enjoy swimming, learning Dutch, chess, and playing guitar. I speak Persian natively, English at C1 level (IELTS Academic: 8.0), and Dutch at A2 level.