Combining infectious disease and economic modelling to inform which antimicrobial resistance-related interventions to prioritise to optimise overall population health and reduce inequalities

external supervisor

Julie Robotham, UK Health Security Agency

background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is responsible for significant mortality and economic harm and will inevitably worsen without substantial changes to global patterns of antibiotic use. There is an urgent need to guide decision-making around the implementation of AMR interventions ultimately aimed at limiting antibiotic exposure while ensuring continued successful treatment of infections.

This project aims to evaluate which decisions around AMR-related interventions (e.g. antimicrobial stewardship, diagnostics, infection prevention and control, and vaccination) should be prioritised for implementation in order to improve overall population health and/or reduce inequality in patient outcomes.

Potential research areas include estimating current levels of AMR-related inequalities, assessing why inequalities may exist and which interventions may reduce inequality, as well as modelling the impact of different interventions using a combination of infectious disease models combined with distributional cost-effectiveness analyses.

The candidate will work with multiple high-quality data sources from the UK for which approvals are already in place.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, RESEARCH METHODS AND TRAINING

The student will be based in the Nuffield Department of Population Health within a broad research consortium of DPhil students and post-docs with expertise in economics, infectious disease modelling, choice modelling, pharmacy, statistics/econometrics, public health, and epidemiology, providing opportunities for skills and career development, both in terms of infectious and economic modelling and more broadly in terms of research careers.

Our group has strong inter-disciplinary links with international collaborators and public health agencies and represents a unique opportunity to develop models that can be used to inform (inter)national policies around AMR.

By the end of the DPhil, it is expected that the candidate will be able to plan, undertake and interpret econometric/statistical, infectious disease transmission, and distributional cost-effectiveness models. Attending relevant specialised training courses will be encouraged.

FIELD WORK, SECONDMENTS, INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS AND TRAINING

Students will acquire research skills through regular supervisory meetings, and by attending relevant seminars, courses, workshops. The DPhil will be co-supervised by the Head of Modelling and Evaluation, Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), providing opportunities to actively engage with policy makers. Attending relevant specialised training courses will be encouraged.

PROSPECTIVE  STUDENT

The ideal candidate will have a Masters degree in (health)-economics, statistics, mathematics, epidemiology, or a related quantitative area. Candidates should have a strong interest in data analysis, experience of coding, and pursuing a career in infectious disease epidemiology and economics.