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Contact Details

Phone
+64 4 918 6802
Email
michael.baker@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor
Department
Department of Public Health (Wellington)
Qualifications
MBChB DPH (Otago) DipObst (Auck) FAFPHM FRACMA
Research summary
Infectious disease surveillance; Health determinants

Research

Michael is a public health physician and Professor in the Department of Public Health. He is passionate about opportunities to organise society in ways that promote health, equity and sustainability.

In 2013 Michael was awarded the Liley Medal (Health Research Council) for his contribution to the health and medical sciences. In 2014 he was a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize as a member of He Kainga Oranga / Housing and Health Research Programme. In 2015 he was the NZ-UK Link Foundation Visiting Professor at the School of Advanced Study (SAS), University of London.

His work during 2020-21 has been dominated by assisting with the Covid-19 pandemic response. Michael is a member of the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 Technical Advisory Group and has been a leading architect and advocate for the Covid-19 elimination strategy. He established a programme of research on the epidemiology, prevention and control of Covid-19 in NZ and internationally (Co-Search), which has generated a large amount of published research and commentary aimed at improving the pandemic response.

Michael’s work on public health, and the Covid-19 response in particular, was recognised by a number of recent awards including: the Critic and Conscience of Society Award (from Universities NZ), the Public Health Champion award (from the Public Health Association of NZ), being made a Member of the NZ Order of Merit (MNZM), his selection as the 2020 Wellingtonian of the Year, and the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize in 2021.

Michael has a wide range of public health research interests, with a focus on infectious diseases, environmental health, and improving housing conditions. Specific research areas include:

His research interests include:

  • infectious disease epidemiology
  • emerging infectious diseases
  • pandemic influenza and how it can be contained
  • food safety and enteric diseases such as campylobacteriosis
  • zoonoses and One Health
  • immunisation and vaccine preventable diseases
  • the health effects of household crowding
  • home injuries, homelessness
  • seasonality of disease, health effects of climate change
  • public health surveillance and outbreak investigation
  • the International health Regulations (IHR 2005) and global health
  • science communication

Publications

Turner, N., Dwight, E., McIntyre, P., Young, A., Best, E., David, M., … Baker, M. (2024). Increasing whooping cough cases put pēpi at risk. What can be done about it? The Briefing, (23 July). Retrieved from https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/increasing-whooping-cough-cases-put-pepi-risk-what-can-be-done-about-it Journal - Research Other

Baker, M., & Gillespie, A. (2024). Despite improved WHO regulations, the world remains ill-prepared for the next pandemic. The Briefing, (14 June). Retrieved from https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/despite-improved-who-regulations-world-remains-ill-prepared-next-pandemic Journal - Research Other

Pourzand, F., Prickett, M., Baker, M., & Hales, S. (2024). Clean ups are not enough: Government policy incoherent on climate change. The Briefing, (10 July). Retrieved from https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/clean-ups-are-not-enough-government-policy-incoherent-climate-change Journal - Research Other

Knott, A., Taiuru, K., Whittaker, R., Kerr, J., & Baker, M. (2024). Has the time come for a register of AI systems used by government agencies? The Briefing, (27 June). Retrieved from https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/has-time-come-register-ai-systems-used-government-agencies Journal - Research Other

Sharma, S., Davies, C., Rattray‑Te Mana, H., Baker, M., Kvalsvig, A., & Walton, M. (2024). Supporting whānau during COVID-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand: A systems thinking case study. BMC Health Services Research, 24, 717. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11164-z Journal - Research Article

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