Email marc_ho@moh.gov.sg

Marc is Director of the Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Centre at the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Singapore. He oversees the policy and operations for national contact tracing efforts, surveillance, epidemiologic investigations and data analytics. He also leads a team working on the reorganization, transition and expansion of existing public health functions into a new national Communicable Diseases Agency. Marc also advises on pandemic preparedness in the MOH.

Prior to his current appointment, Marc was seconded to the World Health Organization Health Emergencies Programme. He was technical lead for urban health emergency preparedness and on strengthening health systems for health security. His previous portfolios at the Ministry of Health include the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, public health intelligence, planning of hospital services, mental health policy and healthcare manpower standards and development.

His research interests are in communicable diseases epidemiology (in particular, disease surveillance and outbreak response) as well as health systems and their impact on health security (in particular, in cities and urban settings).

A medical doctor and public health specialist by training, Marc obtained his Master of Public Health from the National University of Singapore and is a fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore.

• Associate Professor; NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (Adjunct)
• Director, Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Centre, Communicable Diseases Division, Ministry of Health Singapore (Primary)
• Head of Transition, Communicable Diseases Agency Planning Office, Ministry of Health Singapore
• Advisor, Communicable Diseases Policy and Preparedness Office, Communicable Diseases Division, Ministry of Health Singapore
• Fellow; College of Public Health and Occupational Physicians; Academy of Medicine Singapore

• Communicable diseases epidemiology including disease surveillance and outbreak response
• Health Systems in Health Emergency Preparedness

• Communicable Diseases Epidemiology
• Urban Health Emergency Preparedness

• M.B.B.S.; National University of Singapore, 2011
• M.P.H.; National University of Singapore, 2016

• The Public Administration Medal (Silver) (COVID-19)

• Director, Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Centre; Ministry of Health, Singapore (2021-Present)
• Technical Officer, Health Security Preparedness, World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva (2019-2021)
• Deputy Director, Non-Communicable Diseases & Public Health Intelligence; Ministry of Health Singapore (2018-2019)
• Assistant Director, Communicable Diseases Division; Ministry of Health, Singapore (2016-2017)
• Medical Officer; Ministry of Health, Singapore (2014-2016)
• Staff Officer (Epidemiology), Biodefence Centre, Singapore Armed Forces (2013-2014)

• Member, Contact Tracing Guideline Development Group, World Health Organization

• Characteristics of the omicron XBB subvariant wave in Singapore. Lancet. 2023 Apr 15;401(10384):1261-1262.
• Serial Intervals and Incubation Periods of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta Variants, Singapore. Emerg Infect Dis. 2023 Apr;29(4):814-817.
• The role of health systems for health security: a scoping review revealing the need for improved conceptual and practical linkages. Global Health. 2022 May 15;18(1):51.
• The costs of improving health emergency preparedness: A systematic review and analysis of multi-country studies. EClinicalMedicine. 2022 Jan 27;44:101269.
• Epidemic preparedness in urban settings: new challenges and opportunities. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 May;20(5):527-529.
• Outbreak of Zika virus infection in Singapore: an epidemiological, entomological, virological, and clinical analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2017 Aug;17(8):813-821.