Tammy Allen

Dr Tammy Allen is a public health practitioner-academic, researcher and educator with more than 25 years’ experience in public health, including 16 years at James Cook University. Her PhD in Public Health examined the organisational factors that influence community engagement in mosquito-borne disease control. Her research strengthens health system preparedness and emergency response, with a particular focus on public health emergency operations centres and community-centred approaches to disease prevention and control. Her work has established an international reputation in public health emergency operations management and community engagement, informing World Health Organization frameworks, technical guidance, policy briefs and global standards used to strengthen health security worldwide. 

Contributions to global technical guidance, policy briefs and frameworks:

2026 - Urban yellow fever risk management: handbook for national preparedness and response planning

2025 - Policy considerations for strengthening preparedness and response to arbovirus epidemics and pandemics

2024 - Risk communication and community engagement readiness and response toolkit: dengue fever

2024 - Risk communication and community engagement readiness and response toolkit: zika virus

2015 - Framework for a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre

2015 -Handbook for developing a public health emergency operations centre: part A

2016 - Handbook for developing a public health emergency operations centre: part C

2015 - Summary report of systematic reviews for public health emergency operations centres

Global Advisory Group membership:

·       Co-Chair, WHO working group on community protection for Priority Arboviruses with Epidemic Potential (2026-ongoing)

Community Engagement Advisor - WHO TAG-Arbovirus Technical Advisory Group on Arbovirus (2021-2026)

Technical Advisor - WHO EOC-NET (2015-ongoing)

Technical Expert- PacMOSSI  (2026-ongoing)

Expert Meeting Invitations:

WHO EOC-NET Working Group & Annual Meetings: Geneva (2015 - 2x meetings,2016 – 2x meetings,2017); Chiang Mai (2019); Dubai (2024).

WHO TAG-Arbovirus Meetings: Ghana (2023); France (2024), Online (2025, 2026) 

Asia-Europe Foundation and European Centre Disease Control: How can we better prepared for the next global health threat: planning & implementing risk communication, Sweden (2016)

Invited Guest Speaker Presentations:

‘Community engagement in novel population and environmental interventions for the control of epidemic-potential arboviruses’, WHO working group on community protection for Priority Arboviruses with Epidemic Potential (2026)

'Community Engagement and Arbovirus Control', Fondation Merieux Expert Arbovirus Meeting, France. (2024)

'Citizen Science and Medical Entomology' World Health Organization TAG-Arbovirus Meeting, France. (2024)

'Communication for Behavioural Impact in Dengue Fever Outbreak Response'. WHO-AFRO Dengue Fever Webinar Series. (2024)

'Communication for Behavioural Impact in Dengue Fever Outbreak Response'. WHO-SEARO Dengue Outbreak Control Webinar Series. (2023)  

‘Best practice community engagement in Arbovirus control in the Asia-Pacific Region’. WHO TAG Arbovirus Meeting, Ghana. (2023)

Invited chair - panel discussion: Emergency Operations Centers, Research and Innovation, WHO Health Emergency Operation Centres Network Meeting, Chiang Mai, Thailand. (2019)

Awards

·       2020 - Team Lead, JCU Citation Teaching Award

·       2017 - First Author, Best Paper: Journal of Tropical Medicine and Health : Impact of the Lymphatic Filariasis Control Program towards elimination of filariasis in Vanuatu: 1997-2006.

Conference Presentations

·       2026 – 30 years of community engagement in dengue prevention – strategies,  barriers and organisational insights from North Queensland (Poster Presentation)

·       2023 - Factors influencing community participation approaches in Aedes management in the Torres Strait, 15th Mosquito Control Association of Australia Conference, Brisbane (Oral Presentation)

·       2023 - Aedes mosquito management in the Torres Strait: what is impeding a community-based model of practice? 2nd Annual Southern Cross Tropical Medicine Conference, Sydney, Australia (Poster Presentation)

·       2021 - The buzz factors influencing community engagement in Aedes aegypti management in north Queensland. Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Symposium, Cairns, Australia (Poster Presentation)

·       2019 - Gaps and Opportunities in EOC Research, WHO Health Emergency Operation Centres Network Meeting, Chiang Mai, Thailand (Poster Presentation)

·       2019 - Mosquito-borne disease and community engagement in high-income countries: scoping review. Global Health Security Conference. Sydney, Australia (Poster Presentation)

·      2014 - Spencer, R, Allen, T. Systematic Review of PHEOC Plans and Procedures, First Public Health Emergency Operation Centre Framework Meeting, WHO, Geneva (Oral Presentation).

·      2014 - Using a disaster management system to respond to public health emergencies, Australasian Tropical Health Conference, Cairns, Australia (Oral Presentation)

· 

• Public Health Emergency Operation Centres
• Mosquito borne disease, community engagement