Cynthia Chen
Software Developer
MIT
Cynthia is a software developer with over four years' experience in data analytics and data engineering, with a strong focus on applied software development in research systems. Her work centres on designing and maintaining backend architectures, building robust data pipelines, and developing AI-enabled applications that operate reliably in data-intensive and domain-specific environments.
She joined the Global Disease Modelling team in November 2024 as an intern, where she designed and implemented an OpenMalaria chatbot to support the use and ongoing development of OpenMalaria, an open-source mathematical modelling platform for malaria control and intervention research. Her work involved structuring and extracting technical documentation, integrating domain knowledge into retrieval pipelines, and enabling controlled AI-assisted configuration generation.
Following the internship, Cynthia continued with the team as a software developer, taking responsibility for system evolution and reliability. Her current responsibilities include refining chatbot architecture, improving validation and error handling, managing model and API integrations, and ensuring systems remain stable and usable for both internal researchers and external OpenMalaria users.
Cynthia completed her Master in Information Technology (MIT) at the University of Western Australia in August 2025 and received the McCusker Outstanding Intern Award in October 2025 in recognition of the outcomes and technical impact of her work.