Heading

Dr Tippi Mak

Consultant & Head, Vaccine Research Unit, Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions (BISI), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS

BSc, Psychology, 1st class, MD, 1st class, at UBC (Canada) MScPH at LSHTM (UK), and PhD Epidemiology, magna cum laude, at UniBasel (Switzerland)

Dr Tippi Mak is head of the new Vaccine Research Unit at the Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions (VRU@BISI) at NUS, with interests including vaccine acceptance, safety, policy and communication.

She is a Canadian family physician with over 25 years in vaccine development, policy, regulation, programmes, evaluation, pharmacovigilance, in low- to high-income settings, and across government, industry, academic, and community sectors. She has served on various committees and boards.

She was a clinician for five years, including rural Canada, military bases, and at district hospital with ViVa, an NGO in Vanuatu. For four years, she supported WHO at country level offices and WPRO, to strengthen communicable disease control (EPI campaigns, outbreak response, surveillance), and conducted field epidemiological studies for a Swiss helminth research project in rural Lao PDR. She has served as a regular consultant, advisor and trainer for WHO HQ and its committees e.g. GACVS, SAGE for many years. During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, she spent three years as a vaccine regulator at Swissmedic, and chaired the National Vaccine Safety committee for EKIF (Swiss ACIP) and HMEC (Swiss CBER). In Singapore, Dr Mak has served at the Health Promotion Board as Senior Deputy Director, as Sanofi’s Regional Director in public policy and J&J Regional Senior Director during the COVD-19 pandemic.

Publications

Peer-reviewed Journals

  • Muangnoicharoen S, Wiangcharoen R, Lawpoolsri S, Nanthapisal S, Jongkaewwattana A, Duangdee, C, Kamolratakul S, Luvira V, Thanthamnu N, Chantratita N, Thitithanyanont A,, Wartel TA, Excler JL, Ryser MF, Leong C, Mak TK, Pitisuttithum P.  “Heterologous Ad26.COV2.S booster after primary BBIBP-CorV vaccination: one-year follow-up of a phase 1/2 open-label COVID-19 vaccine trial”. Vaccine 25 Jul 2024;42(19):3999-4010. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.05.010
  • Muangnoicharoen S, Wiangcharoen R, Nanthapisal S, Kamolratakul S, Lawpoolsri S, Jongkaewwattana A, Thitithanyanont A, Luvira V, Chinwangso P, Thanthamnu N, Chantratita N, Lim JK, Wartel TA, Excler JL, Ryser MF, Leong C, Mak TK, Pitisuttithum P.  “Single Ad26.COV2.S booster dose following two doses of BBIBP-CorV vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults: Day 28 results of a phase 1/2 open-label trial. Vaccine. Jul 2023. 19;41(32):4648-4657. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.06.043.
  • Mak TK, Lim JCW, Thanaphollert P, Mahlangu GN, Cooke E, Lumpkin MM. “Global regulatory agility during covid-19 and other health emergencies” BMJ. Apr 2020 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m1575
  • Pang T, Mak TK, Gubler D. Prevention and control of dengue – the light at the end of the tunnel. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2017 Mar;17(3):e79-e87. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30471-6.
  • Pang T. Goh DGY, Capeding MR, Hadinegoro SR, Yoksan S, Tantawichien T, Ismail Z, Thisyakorn U, Mak TK. Impact of dengue vaccination: a public health perspective. WHO Dengue Bulletin 2016, Volume 39, December 2016. World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia.
  • Mak TK,* Lovis L,* Phongluxa K, Soukhathammavong P, Keiser J, Vounatsou P, Tanner M, Hatz C, Utzinger J, Odermatt P, Akkhavong K. Comparison of Schistosoma mekongi and Opisthorchis viverrini cure rates following oral praziquantel 40 mg/kg vs 75 mg/kg: a randomized, single-blinded dose comparison study in Lao PDR. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2012.  6(7): e1726. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001726  *joint first authors.
  • Sayasone S, Mak TK, Vanmany M, Rasphone O, Vounatsou P, Utzinger J, Akkhavong K, Odermatt P. Helminth and intestinal protozoa infections, multiparasitism and risk factors in Champasack province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2011 Apr 12; 5(4):e1037.
  • Hesseling AC, Cotton MF, Mak TK, von Reyn CF, Graham SM, Gie RP, Hussey GD. Disseminated BCG disease and the full contraindication to BCG vaccination for children exposed to and/or infected by HIV. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 2009 (9); 1189-90
  • Mangtani P, Mak TK, Pfeifer D. Pandemic H1N1 infection in pregnant women in the USA. The Lancet. 2009; 9688: 429-30.
  • Lovis L, Mak TK, Phongluxa K, Soukhathammavong P, Sayasone S, Akkhavong K, Odermatt P, Keiser J, Felger I.  PCR diagnosis of Opisthorchis viverrini and Haplorchis taichui infections in an endemic Lao community: a comparison of diagnostic methods for parasitological field surveys. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2009; 47(5): 1517-23.
  • Mak TK, Hesseling AC, Hussey GD, Cotton MF.  Making BCG vaccination programmes safer in the HIV era. The Lancet. 2008; 372: 786-7.
  • Mak TK, Mangtani P, Watson JM, Leese J, Pfeifer D. Authors’ Reply: A closer look at influenza vaccination during pregnancy. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2008; 8(11): 662-3.
  • Mak TK, Mangtani P, Watson JM, Leese J, Pfeifer D. Influenza vaccination in pregnancy: current evidence and selected national policies. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2008;8(1): 44-52.
  • Liu Q, Tian LG, Xiao SH, Qi Z, Steinmann P, Mak TK, Utzinger J, Zhou XN, 2008. Harnessing the wealth of Chinese scientific literature: schistosomiasis research and control in China. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology. 2008; 5:19. Online doi:10.1186/1742-7622-5-19.
  • Wilkie DM, Mak T, & Saksida LM.  Pigeons’ landmark use as revealed in a “feature positive” digitized landscape, touchscreen paradigm.”  Behavioural Processes. 1994;32: 87-100.

Book Chapter

Scroll to Top