Marco Waser, PhD, MAS Quality Leadership

Professional activities at Swiss TPH

Marco Waser, PhD and MAS Quality Leadership, is the Head of Quality development and a scientific project leader at Swiss TPH. He holds a PhD in Environmental Epidemiology from the University of Basel, with a focus of Childhood Asthma and Allergies. After three years of postdoctoral research at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel, Switzerland, Waser continued his education, moving into the field of Quality Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich (HWZ) and SAQ-QUALICON. He completed his quality training with a leadership programme with the Swiss Excellence Forum. His professional activities at Swiss TPH involve quality development of the top management leading strategy development and implementation processes as well as research project life cycle processes. Under the umbrella of the European Foundation of Quality Management EFQM excellence model Marco Waser is responsible for key quality processes in management and all three business areas Research, Services and Education. As a trained Diversity, Equity and Inclusion specialist he accompanies search commissions at the University of Basel.

Higher education and qualifications

• 2023: Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Training for Investigators and Study Teams (Swiss TPH)
  2021: Excellence Leadership (Swiss Excellence Forum)
• 2018: Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) Quality Leadership (University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich (HWZ) and SAQ-QUALICON). Thesis: ‘How Continuous Improvement in today’s Environment gets to Corporate Culture? Lean CIP for Swiss TPH’
• 2010: Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Business Administration (University of Applied Science Northwestern Switzerland). Thesis: ‘Quality Measures and Improvement in Science’
• 2005: Training in Web design and Web publishing (webedu.ch, Berne, Switzerland). Thesis: ‘Integrate Website, Intranet and Content Management System (CMS) to the main Knowledge Management System of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel’
• 2004: PhD in Epidemiology (Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel, Switzerland). Thesis: ‘Exposure to indoor microbial agents, allergens and pets, and their relation to asthma and allergy prevalence in farmers' children and their peers from rural areas’
• 1998: Environmental sciences (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich). Major studies in environmental hygiene and anthroposphere. Diploma thesis "The influence of plastic additives on indoor air quality", at the IHA-ETH (Institute for Hygiene and Occupational Physiology) in cooperation with the University of Düsseldorf, Germany

Past professional activities

• 2010-2014: Scientific Project Leader at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Switzerland
• 2009-2011: Change Manager for the Integration of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel into the Swiss Tropical Institute, Switzerland
• 2007-2010: Development of e-learning Modules for the university education in Epidemiology and Public Health
• 2004-2008: Post-doc at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel, Switzerland. Main Function: Environmental Epidemiology with focus on Environmental Determinants for the Development of Childhood Asthma and Allergies
• 1998-2004: Research Assistant (2000-2004 PhD) at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Basel, Switzerland
• 1987-1991: Team member for design engineering, robotic and product development at the Siemens AG, Zug, Switzerland

Saric J, Bolz M, Waser M, Käser M. The consequences of compromising the EU's free movement of persons principle on Swiss research: how to survive constrained access to regional funding. Health Res Policy Syst. 2021;19:30. DOI: 10.1186/s12961-021-00684-3

Waser M, Beatrice-Matter S, Utzinger J. Durchgängiger Strategieprozess als Erfolgsfaktor einer exzellenten Organisation. Managment und Qualität. 2021(01-02):1-3

Waser M. Wie wird kontinuierliche Verbesserung im heutigen Umfeld zur Unternehmenskultur? (Lean KVP for Swiss TPH): Analyse von Erfolgsfaktoren am Beispiel des Schweizerischen Tropen- und Public Health Instituts. Zürch: HWZ Hochschule für Wirtschaft, 2018. MAS-QL

Bertolotti A, Haas P, Haueter I, Käser M, Kronig M, Mörgeli S, Schwarz S, Tamborrini M, Waser M. Umfrage zur Kundenzufriedenheit und zum Verbesserungs-Potential der Administration – Schlussbericht. Basel: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, 2017

Pelikan K, Waser M. Swiss TPH PhD studies: interplay of knowledge management, quality management and communication. In: Wimmer P, ed. Wissen im Prozess: Beiträge zu den Kremser Wissensmanagement-Tagen 2015, 67-75. Krems: Edition Donau-Universität, 2016