Malavika Tampi MPH is currently a Guidelines Specialist with the Infectious Diseases Society of America (2021-present) and previously managed a guideline development team at the American Dental Association’s Science and Research Institute (ADASRI) (2013-2021). She won the 2021 Guidelines International Networks (GIN) Najoua Mlika-Cabanne Innovation Award for her work with the ADASRI’s guideline development program. She is an author on various peer-reviewed systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in dentistry: these include systematic reviews and guidelines on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis for prosthetic joint patients, antibiotic therapy for acute dental pain and swelling, non-restorative treatments for caries, management of acute dental pain, and evaluation of oral cancers.
Her work also includes writing textbooks on evidence-based decision-making, education via intensive workshops on the fundamentals of evidence-based research and practice, and extensive stakeholder and patient engagement. Through her work on the American Dental Association’s guidelines, her team established collaborative pathways with international clinical, healthy policy, and methodology experts (e.g., the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Cochrane Collaboration’s Oral Health Group). Additionally, she has personally consulted on vaccination, cardiovascular disease prevention, and infectious diseases research with various organizations including the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, McMaster University’s Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact department, GIN’s Low and Middle Income Countries working group, and the Peggy Lillis Foundation (a C. difficile patient advocacy group).
Malavika was nominated by her supervisor and mentor, Dr. Alonso Carrasco-Labra DDS, PhD, previously Senior Director for the ADASRI Evidence Synthesis and Translational Research group, for her strategic contributions to the development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in dentistry. Her team’s systematic reviews, guidelines, and clinical-decision algorithms have consistently ranked as the most-read and downloaded articles in the Journal of the American Dental Association and the International Association of Dental Research’s (IADR) Journal of Dental Research, both premier peer-reviewed dental research journals. Furthermore, her contributions to this field have resulted in the ADA’s guidelines being honored by IADR and being presented at international conferences world-wide.