Zhifan Li

dblp:205/1025 · DBLP profile ↗
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11ranked-venue papers
2as first author
7since 2021 · last 2026
—ORCID · conflict

Domains — the database's venue-derived domains; a paper can count in several

Artificial intelligence and machine learning · 5 · 1 first-author · 4 since 2021Theory of computation · 2 · 1 first-author · 2 since 2021Applied, interdisciplinary, general and emerging computing · 2 · 1 since 2021Systems, architecture and hardware · 1Computer networks · 1
YearPublicationVenuePosition
2026 Attention-driven feature enhancement network for object detection
Siming Jia, Zhifan Li, Ruijuan Zheng
Neurocomputing4
2026 SymfuseX: A framework bridging drug-target predictive modeling and target-specific molecular design via a symbiotic fusion mechanism
Baoming Feng, Tiyao Liu, Zhifan Li, Bingru Liu, Junting Lyu, Kefeng Li 0001
Knowl. Based Syst.4
2025 MRAgent: an LLM-based automated agent for causal knowledge discovery in disease via Mendelian randomization
abstract
Understanding causality in medical research is essential for developing effective interventions and diagnostic tools. Mendelian Randomization (MR) is a pivotal method for inferring causality through genetic data. However, MR analysis often requires pre-identification of exposure-outcome pairs from clinical experience or literature, which can be challenging to obtain. This poses difficulties for clinicians investigating causal factors of specific diseases. To address this, we introduce MRAgent, an innovative automated agent leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to enhance causal knowledge discovery in disease research. MRAgent autonomously scans scientific literature, discovers potential exposure-outcome pairs, and performs MR causal inference using extensive Genome-Wide Association Study data. We conducted both automated and human evaluations to compare different LLMs in operating MRAgent and provided a proof-of-concept case to demonstrate the complete workflow. MRAgent's capability to conduct large-scale causal analyses represents a significant advancement, equipping researchers and clinicians with a robust tool for exploring and validating causal relationships in complex diseases. Our code is public at https://github.com/xuwei1997/MRAgent.
Wei Xu 0048, Weiyu Meng, Xiaobing Zhai, Keli Zheng, Yanrong Li, Abao Xing, Junrong Li, Zhifan Li, Kefeng Li 0001
Briefings Bioinform.10
2025 Rethinking Hard Thresholding Pursuit: Full Adaptation and Sharp Estimation
abstract
Hard Thresholding Pursuit (HTP) has aroused increasing attention for its robust theoretical guarantees and impressive numerical performance in non-convex optimization. This paper consider a high-dimensional linear regression model withnobservations,ppredictors, and an unknowns∗-sparse signal β∗∈ Rpcorrupted by noise of magnitude σ.We introduce a novel tuning-free procedure, namely Full-Adaptive HTP (FAHTP), that simultaneously adapts to both the unknown sparsity and signal strength of the underlying model. Our theoretical analysis rigorously characterizes the iterative thresholding dynamics of FAHTP, offering refined theoretical insights. In specific, under the beta-min condition min{i:β∗i̸=0}|β∗i| ≥ Cσ(logp/n)1/2, FAHTP achieves oracle estimation rate σ(s∗/n)1/2, highlighting its theoretical superiority over convex competitors such as LASSO and SLOPE, and recovers the true support set exactly. More importantly, even without the beta-min condition, FAHTP achieves a tighter error bound than the classical minimax rate with high probability. The comprehensive numerical experiments substantiate our theoretical findings, underscoring the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed FAHTP.
Yanhang Zhang, Shixiang Liu, Zhifan Li, Jianxin Yin 0001
IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory3
2024 The optimality of kernel classifiers in Sobolev space
abstract
Kernel methods are widely used in machine learning, especially for classification problems. However, the theoretical analysis of kernel classification is still limited. This paper investigates the statistical performances of kernel classifiers. With some mild assumptions on the conditional probability $\eta(x)=\mathbb{P}(Y=1\mid X=x)$, we derive an upper bound on the classification excess risk of a kernel classifier using recent advances in the theory of kernel regression. We also obtain a minimax lower bound for Sobolev spaces, which shows the optimality of the proposed classifier. Our theoretical results can be extended to the generalization error of overparameterized neural network classifiers. To make our theoretical results more applicable in realistic settings, we also propose a simple method to estimate the interpolation smoothness of $2\eta(x)-1$ and apply the method to real datasets.
Jianfa Lai, Zhifan Li, Dongming Huang
ICLR2
2024 A minimax optimal approach to high-dimensional double sparse linear regression
abstract
In this paper, we focus our attention on the high-dimensional double sparse linear regression, that is, a combination of element-wise and group-wise sparsity. To address this problem, we propose an IHT-style (iterative hard thresholding) procedure that dynamically updates the threshold at each step. We establish the matching upper and lower bounds for parameter estimation, showing the optimality of our proposal in the minimax sense. More importantly, we introduce a fully adaptive optimal procedure designed to address unknown sparsity and noise levels. Our adaptive procedure demonstrates optimal statistical accuracy with fast convergence. Additionally, we elucidate the significance of the element-wise sparsity level $s_0$ as the trade-off between IHT and group IHT, underscoring the superior performance of our method over both. Leveraging the beta-min condition, we establish that our IHT-style procedure can attain the oracle estimation rate and achieve almost full recovery of the true support set at both the element level and group level. Finally, we demonstrate the superiority of our method by comparing it with several state-of-the-art algorithms on both synthetic and real-world datasets.
Yanhang Zhang, Zhifan Li, Shixiang Liu, Jianxin Yin 0001
J. Mach. Learn. Res.2
2024 Estimating Double Sparse Structures Over ℓu(ℓq) -Balls: Minimax Rates and Phase Transition
abstract
In this paper, we focus on the high-dimensional double sparse structures, where the parameter of interest simultaneously encourages group-wise and element-wise sparsity. By combining the Gilbert-Varshamov bound and its variants, we develop a novel lower bound technique for the metric entropy of the parameter space, specifically tailored for the double sparse structure over$\ell _{u}(\ell _{q})$-balls with$u,q \in [0,2$). We give lower bounds on the estimation error using an information-theoretic approach, leveraging the proposed technique and Fano’s inequality. To complement the lower bounds, we establish matching upper bounds through a direct analysis of constrained least-squares estimators and utilizing results from empirical processes. A significant discovery is that a phase transition phenomenon exists on the minimax rates for$u,q \in (0, 2)$. Furthermore, we extend the theoretical findings to the double sparse regression models and determine the minimax rates for estimation error. A novel Double Sparse Iterative Hard Thresholding (DSIHT) procedure is developed, with minimax optimality guaranteed. Finally, we demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method through numerical experiments.
Zhifan Li, Yanhang Zhang, Jianxin Yin 0001
IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory1
2020 Improved droop control based on multi-stage lead-lag compensation
abstract
The droop control and virtual synchronous generator control are currently the two most popular inverter control strategies, but both of these control strategies cannot be satisfied at the same time: (1) Frequency stability in stand-alone (SA) mode. (2) In the grid-connected (GC) mode, the output active power quickly follows the input power command. (3) Anti-interference ability of inverter output frequency in gridconnected mode. In response to these deficiencies, this paper proposes an improved droop control based on multi-stage leadlag compensation. This control strategy adds a lag link to the frequency output link of the traditional droop control to provide virtual inertia for the system; multi-stage lead lag compensation is added to the active power output section to improve the dynamic characteristics in the grid-connected mode. In the GC state, the improved droop control effectively reduces the power impact when the power command changes, and accelerates the power response speed. Enhanced the anti-interference ability of output frequency. In SA state, improved droop control can provide sufficient inertia and damping characteristics. Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed improved droop control.
Yaoqin Jia, Biao Jia, Yujian Pan, Zhifan Li
IECON6
2020 CTRA: A complex terrain region-avoidance charging algorithm in Smart World
Guangjie Han, Haofei Guan, Zeren Zhou, Zhifan Li, Sammy Chan, Wenbo Zhang 0001
J. Netw. Comput. Appl.4
2019 A novel temporal and topic-aware recommender model
Dandan Song 0005, Zhifan Li, Lifei Qin, Lejian Liao
World Wide Web2
2018 Staged Generative Adversarial Networks with Adversarial-Boundary
Zhifan Li, Lejian Liao
PRICAI (1)1