Quantitative Researcher & Economic Analytics Specialist

Samjhana Koirala

Minneapolis, MN Permanent Resident 208-***-**** ***************.**@*****.*** http://www.samjhanakoirala.com EDUCATION

Applied Economics, PhD, University of Connecticut 2019 - 2025 Storrs, Connecticut (GPA: 3.88/4.00) Applied Economics, MS, University of Idaho 2017 – 2019 Moscow, Idaho (GPA: 4.00/4.00) AWARDS & HONORS

• Awarded $29,500 CT Sea Grant & Eversource Energy Center Fellowship to lead research on behavioral adaptation to power outages.

• Received $25,727 in competitive academic honors, including the Pre-doctoral Fellowship, Russell Panel Fellowship, Irving

& Justice Fellows Scholarship, & Ellen Bishop Carder Scholarship recognizing top-tier research, coursework, & conference contributions.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Quantitative Researcher, Wall Street Quants Aug 2025 – Present NYC, NY

● Designed & back-tested systematic momentum & mean-reversion strategies in cryptocurrency markets using multi-horizon price-volume data.

● Applied cross-section regression analysis to evaluate predictive power of return, volume, & volatility factors for alpha generation.

● Developed a market-neutral portfolio framework with dynamic weighting & risk-adjusted optimization (Sharpe, drawdown, beta) in Python.

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Connecticut Aug 2019- Aug 2025 Storrs, CT

● Led full-cycle research for the SNOWPACS project to analyze farmers’ land allocation decisions in responses to the changing mean & variability in timing of snowmelt in arid regions using timeseries climate & cropland layer data.

● Applied PCA & Mixed Logit Models to quantify households’ adaptation behaviors in response to the increasing risks of power outages, leading the project from grant writing & stakeholder outreach to survey design, data collection, analysis, & contributing to peer-reviewed publications & policy briefings.

● Collaborated with cross-disciplinary teams to apply causal inference (DID, fixed effects) & machine learning (regression, clustering, classification) to time-series climate data.

● Identified the impact of snowmelt timing on land use, supporting agricultural planning & environmental resource allocation. Teaching Assistant, University of Connecticut Aug 2019 – Dec 2024 Storrs, CT

● Assisted in teaching various courses including Computational Analysis, Econometrics, Economics of Energy, Climate Change,

& the Environment.

● Held weekly office hours, guided students’ discussions & provided clear solutions & explanations for exams/ homework. Graduate Research Assistant, University of Idaho Aug 2017 – Jul 2019 Moscow, ID

● Utilized GAMS to solve constraint optimizations problems to find the potential assets for sustainable communities’ growth.

● Conducted research to understand the regional economic impact of nematode infestation in potato farms using IMPLAN & Excel.

QUANT SKILLS: Python (Pandas/NumPy), Stata, R, SQL, Econometrics, Regression Analysis, Machine Learning, Statistical Modelling, Academic Writing, ArcGIS Pro, GAMS, IMPLAN PUBLICATIONS (working papers listed on my website) Koirala, S., Jakus, P. M., & Watson, P. (2023). Identifying Constraints to Rural Economic Development: A Development Guidance Function Approach. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 38(3):461. Bordigioni, M., Koirala, S., Kobayashi, M., and Jakus, P.M. (2020). Area Sector Analysis Process: Technical Documentation. Western Rural Development Center.

Koirala, S., Watson, P., McIntosh, C. S., & Dandurand, L. M. (2020). Economic Impact of Globodera Pallida on the Idaho Economy. American Journal of Potato Research, 97(2), 214-220. LANGUAGES: English, Hindi, Nepali

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