Profile of the month

Tan Chee Wah

PhD

Assistant Professor

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Email: gmstanc@nus.edu.sg

Research Interest

Benjamin Franklin once said, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." The importance of preparedness for a public health emergency is evident in the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic. Southeast Asia is a known hotspot of zoonotic viruses, and the extensive land uses and climate changes significantly alter the wildlife ecosystems and, thus, increase the risk of zoonotic virus spillover into human populations. Our research focuses on the active surveillance of highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses in the human-animal interface using high-throughput and high-resolution serological assays. We aim to understand the regional infectious disease threats and pre-emptively prepare for the next outbreaks through therapeutic and vaccine development. Our goal is to stop outbreaks from becoming pandemics.