Joint Structure Learning of Multiple Non-Exchangeable Networks

Abstract

Several methods have recently been developed for joint structure learning of multiple (related) graphical models or networks. These methods treat individual networks as exchangeable, such that each pair of networks are equally encouraged to have similar structures. However, in many practical applications, exchangeability in this sense may not hold, as some pairs of networks may be more closely related than others, for example due to group and sub-group structure in the data. Here we present a novel Bayesian formulation that generalises joint structure learning beyond the exchangeable case. In addition to a general framework for joint learning, we (i) provide a novel default prior over the joint structure space that requires no user input; (ii) allow for latent networks; (iii) give an efficient, exact algorithm for the case of time series data and dynamic Bayesian networks. We present empirical results on nonexchangeable populations, including a real data example from biology, where cell-linespecific networks are related according to genomic features.