Head of CRC, Consultant Paediatrician, Hospital Sibu, Sarawak

Email: thtoh@yahoo.com | ohth@moh.gov.my 

MBBS (Melb.), FRCPCH (UK), Dip. Derm (S’pore), Chapter Com. Child Health (RACP, Aust.), AM (Mal.)

Areas of interest: Studies on One Health and Vaccine Trials, Paediatrics, Community Child Health, Developmental & Behavioural Disorders

Awards and achievements:

• Outstanding Young Malaysian Award for the “Contribution to Children, World Peace or Human Rights” category (Junior Chamber International Malaysia, 2010).
• Special Education Network in Asia (SENIA) Advocacy Award (SENIA, 2018)
• Public Service Award (Malaysian Medical Association Sarawak Branch, 2014)
• Established Clinical Research Centre Laboratory (CRC Lab) in 2017 with the financial and technical assistance of SEGi University and Duke University, the first molecular lab outside Sarawak’s capital city. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CRC Lab became the reference laboratory providing COVID-19 PCR testing for Central and Northern Sarawak in March 2020 before private and government laboratories were established in mid-2020.
• Frequently interviewed and featured: National Public Radio (USA), Clinical Research Malaysia Bulletin of Clinical Research & Therapy, Chiron (Melbourne Medical School 150th Anniversary Special Commemorative Edition), and various newspapers and radio stations in Malaysia.
• Won various scientific prizes for oral and poster presentations during international conferences: BRTMA-Malaysia International Congress on Tropical Medicine (2019), Annual Congress of Malaysia Paediatric Association (2007, 2011, 2015), International Conference on Mother & Child Health (2016), National Conference for Clinical Research (2016, 2021-2023), Regional Annual Congress of the Perinatal Society of Malaysia (2023), National Conference of Children’s Palliative Care Malaysia (2022).
• Has led 10 industrial-sponsored trials as national coordinating principal investigator in Malaysia on various vaccine and paediatric drug trials.
• Global first and top recruiter for a few industrial-sponsored paediatric drug trials on the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus.

Scientific & Community Contribution:

• Review manuscripts for international scientific journals such as Clinical Pediatrics, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, BMC Psychiatry, Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, Child: Care, Health and Development, BMJ Open, Early Child Development & Care.
• Presented more than 300 topics at various scientific meetings and training workshops throughout Malaysia and internationally (ASEAN, Europe, USA, Bangladesh, India, China and Hong Kong).
• Appointed member for international / national organisations such as Special Olympics Global Medical Advisory Committee, Safe Sports Committee (Ministry of Youth & Sports Malaysia); Suspected Child Abuse & Neglect Sub-Committee (Ministry of Health Malaysia); Technical Committee for the Institute of Clinical Research (National Institute of Health).
• Adviser to One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development, Sarawak); National Family Support Group for Children & People with Special Needs; Special Olympics Asia Pacific (Health Promotion®).
• Published parent-teacher handbooks on ADHD, language development, breastfeeding, Chinese literary prose and stories, and stories books.
• Has presented in nearly 150 public / radio talks and virtual presentations on various health and medical topics

Prof. Dr Toh Teck Hock is a distinguished paediatrician and researcher committed to improving child health outcomes through innovative research and health promotion. With a focus on vulnerable populations, including children and people with intellectual disabilities, Dr Toh has been instrumental in addressing critical health issues. He has collaborated with international researchers at the World Health Organization, University of Texas Medical Branch and Duke University, Fudan University, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA), and Singapore and Europe. He is known for his work in One Health collaboration, notably in discovering a novel coronavirus in 2021, and for his dedication to child health care and integrating technology into health screenings.

Grants:

• Various research organisations: the Ministry of Health Malaysia (Major Research Grants), Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (Fundamental Research Grant Scheme), American Lung Association, DGHI Viral Pathogen Discovery Network (USA), Malaysian Paediatric Association.
• Various university grants such as Duke University, University of Texas Medical Branch, University Technology of Sarawak, and industries such as Vysnova Partners Inc. (USA), Kirkland Biosciences (USA), Petronas Malaysia, Sinovac Life Sciences (China), and Seegene Inc. (Korea).
• From various local / international organisations and corporates on community projects for disability intervention and vocational training, health screening, breastfeeding promotion, cleft lips / palates repairs and construction of a police house and children’s playground. 

Prof. Toh has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters. Others have cited his published works > 800 times (h-index of 14 and i10-index of 19 by Google Scholar).

One Health Collaboration and COVID-19 Research

• Dr Toh has been at the forefront of global research efforts to understand and combat COVID-19. His work on the discovery of the novel coronavirus with international collaborator has been recognised globally, contributing to Malaysia’s standing in global health research (Vlasova AN, Toh TH, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2022). His team also studies respiratory and diarrhoeal viruses, encephalitis causes, malaria, etc. 

Developmental & Health Screening Apps

• A collaborative project with a Japanese entrepreneur, Dr Toh, plays a pivotal role in conducting clinical studies that enable the implementation of the TOY EIGHT Development Screening App in Sarawak. It revolutionises early childhood developmental screenings, making early intervention more accessible and effective. He is also working with Psychologists at Sunway University and Spark Child Centre in the development of Spark @ Grow mobile application for developmental screening of infants and toddlers, and with Engineers at the University of Technology Sarawak on various digital / AI tools on medical assessment (e.g., knee gait analysis on osteoarthritis, breathing rate, children’s cognition, and retinopathy).

Healthy Athletes Program for People with Disabilities 

• Dr Toh regularly organises the Special Olympics Health Athletes Program as a trainer for Special Olympics athletes, designed to promote physical fitness and wellbeing among athletes with intellectual disabilities, integrating health education with sports. The data collected contributes to a global data bank that are used for policy change to improve the population health, demonstrating the tangible impact of this initiative on the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities.

Efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of CoronaVac® in children and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial.

CROCuS, A phase 2 study evaluating the antiviral activity, clinical outcomes, and safety of rilematovir in children aged ≥28 days and ≤3 years with acute respiratory tract infection due to respiratory syncytial virus.

Effectiveness of vero cell inactivated vaccine against severe acute respiratory infections in Sibu, Malaysia: A retrospective test-negative design.

Social-emotional development of children in Asia: A systematic review. 

Effectiveness of using artificial intelligence for early child development screening. 

RSV GOLD Study Group. Nosocomial RSV-related in-hospital mortality in children <5 years: a global case series.