Huaxuan's Story

Data is everywhere. It is collected from our computers and cell phones, closely monitored within businesses and organizations, scrutinized until it reaches that success barometer. It has transformed our lives and economies and yet, what has not transformed is the male-dominated space of data and tech careers. Men outnumber women within most data roles 4 to 1, according to the World Economic Forum.

Huaxuan (Helen) Chen is amazed at how data science revolutionized the healthcare industry, and sees its potential to revolutionize the gender disparities within the field.

As a fourth-year student at Duke University studying Statistical Science with a concentration in Data Science, Huaxuan is already very accomplished. Even as a high school student, Huaxuan worked at a lab at the University of Toronto, leading a team to build a computer simulation using COBWEB software to study the effectiveness of permethrin in reducing transmission of the Zika virus in Olaria, Brazil. Similar to Yasmina’s story from last week, Huaxuan sought to apply her efforts to mitigate global problems. No vaccine exists for the Zika virus and considering it has spread to over 86 countries, Huaxuan’s project is especially relevant on a global scale. Huaxuan was pleased to have her research published in the Young Scientists Journal, an international peer-reviewed science journal that is written, reviewed, and produced by 12-20 year olds.?

Huaxuan continued her application of data science into the healthcare field with her recent project at her university. She told me how she studied under “Dr. Eric Laber to study grip strength as a predictor of quality of life and mortality in Singapore patients with advanced heart failure through survival data analysis using the R software.” She also experimented with applying her data science talents and passions into the financial sector, constructing a data visualization tool to analyze DUMAC’s (Duke Management Company) investment factors. Her unwavering curiosity towards exploring all of the uses and applications of data science illustrates the field’s unique versatility and ubiquity.?

“I’m very passionate about my field of study, as I believe that data is one of the most powerful tools of the 21st century,” Huaxuan explains. “Data science is unique in its volume, velocity, and variety, all of which make it accessible and useful for analysis and application.”

Huaxuan also sets her sights on increasing the representation of women within data science careers and science policy at large, marked by her involvement with the UN and as a co-founder of the GirlsinScience4SDGs International Platform. Huaxuan was critical in the establishment of this program and she has since watched with increasing fondness and pride at how much the “platform grows, evolves, and becomes increasingly inclusive, such as with the addition of more languages to break down communication barriers.”

She told me an anecdote about how on the first day of the new year, January 1, 2018, she met with Princess Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite, where Princess Nisreen invited Huaxuan to moderate the opening plenary and Girls in Science Panel for the 3rd International Day for Women and Girls in Science. Convened by girls from all over the world, the Girls in Science Panel drafted a list of recommendations to Member States that Huaxuan helped deliver. Huaxuan is the first 16-year old to moderate an official UN panel.?

Fast forward to a few years later, she spearheaded a webinar with H.E. The Permanent Representative of Portugal Ambassador Francisco António Duarte Lopes on the progress of the Girls in Science 4 SDGs International Platform and Portugal’s efforts to achieve the SDGs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Huaxuan delivered a speech on the importance of building public trust in science, a topic especially relevant when government health officials were given a lot of attention during the pandemic. Huaxuan also gave a specific “focus on providing precision science to local communities, bridging the gap between academia and industry, and breaking barriers for a diverse group of founders working across different STEM disciplines.”

Throughout Huaxuan’s many accomplishments and obstacles, she maintains that success can only be achieved through collaboration. Her interview with Dr. Francis Arnold, a Nobel Prize in Chemistry Recipient, cemented this fact.

Age and gender were not detriments for Huaxuan, but rather her sources of strength. Whether stepping into the lab, sifting through code at her computer, or speaking at the UN, Huaxuan brings a freshness, fierce determination, and eloquence wherever she goes.?

The International Day for Women and Girls in Science played such a vital role in her career and confidence, and it can for you too. Huaxuan is excited for this year’s Assembly and for the future where women are leaders in data science and science policy.?

She concludes, “I am very excited to see how this movement will grow and evolve in the future, and I look forward to this year’s assembly on bringing everyone forward for sustainable and equitable development with a focus on SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11, and 17.”