Melvin Obadha

Melvin joined the Health Economics Research Centre at the Nuffield Department of Population Health as a DPhil student in October 2019. His research focusses on priority setting for the achievement of universal health coverage in low and middle income countries and will be working with policy makers, academics, health care providers, programme managers, patient groups and the general public. Melvin is supervised by Dr Apostolos Tsiachristas, Dr Oliver Rivero-Arias, and Dr Edwine Barasa. 

His DPhil is supported by the Clarendon Fund, Oxford-Radcliffe Graduate Scholarship, Nuffield Department of Population Health, and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) – Wellcome Trust Research Programme.

Prior to commencing his DPhil, Melvin worked as a choice modeller at the Health Economics Research Unit of the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi, Kenya. He led the design, implementation, and analysis of a discrete choice experiment that elicited the preferences of health care providers for capitation payment mechanism in Kenya. Melvin holds an MSc in Global Health and Development from the University College London (UCL) and a BSc from Kenyatta University in Kenya.

In his spare time, Melvin enjoys rowing, swimming, cycling, and fitness activities. He previously enjoyed a prolific rugby union career that earned him a call up to the Kenya national rugby sevens team. He is currently the ambassador of Kenyan alumni of the International Student House, London.