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Professor Michael Baker is a public health physician and Professor in the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, Faculty of Medicine. He earned his MBChB and Diploma in Obstetrics from the University of Auckland, Diploma in Community Health, Diploma in Public Health from the University of Otago, and holds fellowships as FNZCPHM and FAFPHM. Baker joined the University of Otago faculty in 1997, becoming full-time staff in 2003. His prior career includes roles as medical advisor to a Minister of Health, positions in regional public health services, at the Crown Research Institute ESR (now PHF Science), and with the World Health Organization in Manila and Geneva. He has held visiting positions such as NZ-UK Link Foundation Visiting Professor at the University of London in 2015, Visiting Fellow at the Norwegian Centre for Advanced Study in 2023, and will be a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard in 2026.
Baker's research specializations include infectious disease epidemiology, COVID-19 epidemiology and control strategies, emerging infectious diseases, food safety and enteric diseases, zoonoses, immunisation, health effects of household crowding and healthy housing, rheumatic fever prevention, chronic effects of infections, seasonality of disease, environmental health, public health infrastructure, and global health security. He directs the Health Protection Aotearoa Research Centre and Public Health Communication Centre, co-directs the Public Health Summer School, leads the Co-Search Programme, and is principal investigator for the SYMBIOTIC Programme. During New Zealand's COVID-19 response, he served on the Ministry of Health's Technical Advisory Group and Pandemic Advisory Group, architecting the elimination strategy published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020. Key publications include 'Estimates of global seasonal influenza-associated respiratory mortality: a modelling study' (The Lancet, 2018), 'Successful elimination of Covid-19 transmission in New Zealand' (New England Journal of Medicine, 2020), 'Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community' (BMJ, 2007), and 'Impact of the COVID-19 nonpharmaceutical interventions on influenza and other respiratory viral infections in New Zealand' (Nature Communications, 2021). His contributions have advanced infectious disease surveillance, housing interventions, and pandemic preparedness.
Baker has received numerous awards, including the 2023 Health Research Council Liley Medal for rheumatic fever research, 2022 Royal Society Callaghan Medal, 2021 Royal Society Rutherford Medal for housing and health impact, 2021 MNZM for public health science services, 2020 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize, and 2014 Prime Minister's Science Prize as part of He Kāinga Oranga. He serves as board member of the NZ Drug Foundation, member of the WHO Regional Verification Commission for Measles Elimination, and convenes University of Otago's Health Protection paper.
Four University of Otago professors—Tim Anderson, Michael Baker, John Crump, and Peter Dearden—elected RSNZ Fellows, recognizing leadership in neurology, epidemiology, tropical diseases, and developmental biology.
University of Otago's study uncovers 78% surge in sepsis hospitalisations over 20 years, inequities, and calls for national action in Aotearoa.
University of Otago study uncovers 78% rise in sepsis hospital admissions in New Zealand from 2000-2019, with stark inequities for Māori and Pacific peoples. Explore trends, causes, and calls for national action.
University of Otago research uncovers a 78% surge in sepsis hospital admissions in New Zealand from 2000-2019, with stark disparities for Māori, Pacific peoples, and deprived areas. Explore trends, causes, and calls for a national action plan.
New University of Otago research delves into syndemics—interacting diseases amplifying Māori health burdens in Aotearoa. Discover SYMBIOTIC findings on rheumatic fever, diabetes, and solutions via whānau ora.
Explore the PHCC briefing backed by University of Otago researchers advocating repeal of NZ's 50-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act for health-focused reforms amid rising harms.
New Zealand heightens biosecurity measures after Australia confirms its first H5N1 bird flu case in a migratory seabird, with experts urging updated pandemic preparedness.
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