Elaine Zhao

Associate Data Scientist, Hoow Foods

Singapore

Elaine is a data scientist with local food-tech start-up Hoow Foods. She uses data science to solve problems related to the reformulation of foods, to help develop healthier alternatives without compromising on taste. As the first data scientist to join the team full-time, her work ranges from setting up the database infrastructure to developing optimisation and machine learning models. In the ever-evolving environment of a start-up company, she also conducts laboratory experiments to test new and healthier recipes.

Before becoming a data scientist, Elaine was a marine biologist at the environmental consulting firm DHI, where she was first exposed to the benefits that automation and data science can have on influencing business decisions. She also conducted field surveys at the coral reefs and seashores around Singapore. She holds a BA in Biology from Oxford University.