The promise of Personalised Health: Is this the Future of Healthcare?

Prof Tikki Pangestu joined the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, at the National University of Singapore after 13 years at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland as Director of its Research Policy & Cooperation department.

In this capacity he worked with countries to strengthen their national health research systems, developed mechanisms and initiatives to improve the efficiency and transparency of global health research, and helped formulate an Organization-wide research policy.

Prior to his WHO career, Tikki was Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the Institute of Postgraduate Studies & Research, and Associate Professor/Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

After following a traditional academic career path in Malaysia, his experience at the WHO convinced him that the generation of knowledge must be accompanied by its translation and utilization, and the bridging of the ‘know-do’ gap into effective and sustainable public policies in order to improve the health of humankind, especially in the developing world.

He is currently Chair of the Board of SEACO (Southeast Asia Community Observatory) and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Leadership Malaria Alliance (APLMA).

Tikki’s main research and academic interests are in infectious diseases, the impact of genomics on public health, global health governance, national health research systems, knowledge translation, research transparency & accountability, and the use of evidence in health policy development.