Early Career Researcher (ECR) Journal Club
The IHEA Econ-Omics Special Interest Group is pleased to invite you to our next Early Career Researcher (ECR) Journal Club. The webinar will take place from 8-10am UTC (9-11am BST / 6-8pm AEST) on Tuesday 15th July.
The webinar will feature presentations from three ECRs, followed by a discussion facilitated by a senior health economist. The presenters and discussants are:
1. Martin Vu – Health Economist, Health Economics and Policy Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London
Presentation: Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of clinical metagenomics for pathogen detection compared to standard blood culture in UK patients with infective endocarditis: A Health Economic Analysis Plan
Discussant: Son Nghiem – Associate Professor in Health Economics, Head of Health Economics Research and Modelling Unit, Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland
Martin Vu joined the Health Economics and Policy Research Unit at Queen Mary University of London’s Wolfson Institute of Population Health in 2024. He completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2023, where he investigated the health economic impact of genome sequencing in guiding clinical care for blood cancer patients. He is currently contributing to a project evaluating the cost-effectiveness of clinical metagenomics in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis—a rare but potentially fatal condition caused by bacterial infection of the heart lining. Clinical metagenomics is a novel, sequencing-based diagnostic technique that offers more rapid and precise pathogen detection than conventional blood cultures. Martin’s presentation will detail the health economic analysis plan supporting this study.
2. Francisco Santos-Gonzalez – PhD Candidate, Economics of Genomics and Precision Medicine Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
Presentation: The economic value of functional genomic diagnostics for rare disease patients
Discussant: Martin Downes – Associate Professor, Griffith University Centre for Applied Health Economics
Francisco’s research project aims to develop health economics evidence to inform the clinical implementation of functional genomics testing for individuals with undiagnosed rare diseases in Australia. Francisco’s background is in biotechnology, where he first became interested in genomics. That curiosity has stayed with him as he has taken on roles in the pharmaceutical industry and pursued graduate studies in biotechnology, where he began to recognize the growing importance of genomics in diagnosis and care. As a PhD student, Francisco has collaborated with clinicians, families, and researchers, navigating the use of genomics in healthcare in fair, effective, and realistic ways. His research investigates the real costs and value of genomic testing and aims to develop estimation methods that better inform decision-making and clinical implementation.
3. Amber Salisbury – Research Fellow in Health Economics, University of Manchester School of Health Sciences
Presentation: Integrating intermediate outcomes into economic models: A case study using prenatal screening
Discussant: Richard Norman – Professor of Health Economics, School of Population Health, Curtin University
Amber is a research fellow in health economics at the University of Manchester School of Health Sciences. Prior to joining the University of Manchester, she completed her PhD in Health Economics at the University of Sydney. Her research applies economic methods to quantify the value of genetic and genomic testing, with a focus on capturing broad outcomes and integrating preference research into economic models. Amber will present her work on integrating intermediate outcomes into economic models, using a case study of prenatal screening.