Winner, Mid-Career Scientist Category, 2022

A Transformative Journey in Fight Against Childhood Obesity

Meet Dr. Supiya Charoensiriwath, a outstanding determine main Thailand’s efforts to fight childhood weight problems and advocate for wholesome consuming habits. Her pioneering work leverages the capabilities of synthetic intelligence (AI) to assemble and analyze very important health-related information. A distinguished graduate of University College London, Dr. Supiya at present serves because the Principal Researcher and Head of the Human Behavior Analytics Research Team on the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center. Her exceptional journey to profitable the 2022 Underwriters Laboratories-ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women was a testomony to her dedication to AI analysis, which harmoniously aligned with the competitors’s theme that 12 months.

Revolutionizing Child Health Research

Dr. Supiya’s analysis odyssey started throughout her doctoral research, the place she directed her focus towards well being and childhood vitamin. Her involvement within the UK Sizing Survey left an indelible mark on her analysis trajectory. Upon her return to Thailand, she spearheaded the groundbreaking “SizeThailand” mission, using 3D physique scanning expertise to gather information from over 13,000 individuals throughout 2007-2008. This formidable endeavor aimed to create standardized physique dimension charts to reinforce the match of merchandise tailor-made to Thai shoppers.

The complexity of developing physique sizing charts led Dr. Supiya and her analysis group to innovate. They developed a novel swarm intelligence AI algorithm that revolutionized the method. This breakthrough enabled the creation of extra exact physique charts, overlaying 98% of the inhabitants with 10 feminine and 9 male physique sizes, surpassing all earlier strategies.

Bridging Nutrition Gaps and Impact Beyond Borders

The impression of the MeasurementThailand survey information prolonged past the style trade. Dr. Supiya’s analysis revealed that over a 3rd of the Thai inhabitants was both chubby or overweight. This important information knowledgeable the Department of Health’s recalibration of Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for Thais, a pivotal step in addressing diet-related issues. Dr. Supiya and her group additionally collaborated with Health and Nutrition specialists to develop nutrition-related apps, together with MyHealth Thailand, FoodiEat, and FoodChoice, providing steering to shoppers and facilitating information assortment for additional analysis. Dr. Supiya’s affect reached worldwide borders, as she suggested each the Malaysian and Philippine Sizing Surveys, sharing her experience in growing exact physique dimension charts.

Dr. Supiya’s dedication to childhood vitamin prolonged to initiatives equivalent to KidDiary, an app designed to observe youngsters’s progress and growth , and the Thai School Lunch mission. Her dedication to bridging the vitamin hole between privileged and underprivileged youngsters turned obvious. She emphasised, “It is crucial to recognize that for some children, school lunches might be the only meal they have that day.” Dr. Supiya actively pursued collaborations with native farmers to make sure meals security and accessibility for all college youngsters round Thailand.

Another groundbreaking initiative led by Dr. Supiya and her group is REMI, an clever chatbot designed to help expectant moms. Packed with data on obstetrics and gynecology, REMI employs Natural Language Processing, permitting computer systems to grasp textual content and spoken phrases, facilitating priceless interactions with expectant moms throughout their being pregnant journey.

Recognition, Future Initiatives, and Mentorship

Winning the Science Prize for Women in 2022 within the mid-career class propelled Dr. Supiya into the highlight. With elevated recognition and credibility, she is best positioned to hunt new analysis grants. Dr. Supiya acknowledges that her standing as a prize winner amplifies the credibility of her work, motivating her to translate this success into extra funding alternatives for increasing her analysis on the intersection of childhood vitamin and AI.

“I still have the same passion for wanting to drive new initiatives to improve the quality of life for all children regardless of their social background. I would like to inspire other women, especially the younger generation, to come up with new innovations to make a difference to our future society.”

Dr. Supiya’s journey continues with an thrilling new initiative centered round meals traceability. Together along with her devoted analysis group in Bangkok, she makes use of blockchain expertise to confirm cross-border commerce flows, guaranteeing the protection of meals provides. Additionally, by way of her affiliation with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Dr. Supiya mentors scholarship recipients, starting from highschool college students to Ph.D. candidates in STEM fields. She continuously shares her insights as a featured speaker, championing the reason for girls in STEM points in Thailand. Dr. Supiya Charoensiriwath is a beacon of inspiration, embodying the impactful fusion of AI, healthcare, and vitamin for the betterment of society.

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Aligned with the U.S. strategic strategy to the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) maintains its dedication to partnering with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This collaboration goals to advertise prosperity, safety, financial inclusion, girls’s empowerment, and good governance. The Underwriters Laboratories – ASEAN – U.S. Science Prize for Women, now in its ninth 12 months, underscores the invaluable contributions of girls in  science, expertise, engineering, or math (STEM) analysis and highlights the enduring public-private sector partnership with ASEAN, USAID, and UL Research Institutes. Since its inception in 2014, the competitors has engaged almost 400 individuals from all ten ASEAN member states, reaffirming the importance of girls in advancing sustainable societal enhancements by way of science and expertise experience.