PhD

Job description

We are seeking a PhD candidate on the topic “Health technology Assessment & health economic modelling methods for precision medicine”. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a multidisciplinary process that uses explicit methods to determine the value of a health technology at different points in its lifecycle. You will perform research on HTA & health economic modelling methods for precision medicine, intended to address an important problem: current HTA methods are not made with mechanism‑based disease definitions in mind.

With the emergence of precision medicine, we are able to identify smaller subgroups of patients that truly benefit from new and repurposed drugs, thereby reducing the numbers‑needed‑to‑treat. With many possible drug‑target combinations, prioritizing those that pose the most value to patients and society is a challenging task. You will perform research into how HTA methods, with a focus on health economic modelling methods, need to adapt to anticipate these developments.

You will also perform health economic modelling to apply the developed methods in real‑world health technologies, typically consisting of (AI‑based) diagnostics in combination with drugs. Your PhD project will partly be funded by the REPO4EU consortium https://repo
4.eu/, a EU‑funded project for building a global platform for mechanism‑based drug repurposing. In addition to your PhD research, you will work on other projects, such as being a member of an external assessment group (EAG) supporting reimbursement decisions made by the England & Wales National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – see below for more details.

You will be part of the department for Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment (KEMTA) at the Maastricht University Medical Centre+. KEMTA supports evidence development along the lifecycle of health technologies, provides independent advice and consultancy, is engaged with teaching and performs methodological research. With 30+ staff members, including many PhD candidates, you will be part of a vibrant international research culture at the cross‑section of statistics, epidemiology, qualitative research and HTA.

Since 2011, KEMTA is part of an EAG for NICE. NICE provides guidance to the NHS in England & Wales on the clinical and cost effectiveness of selected new and established technologies. NICE carries out appraisals of health technologies at the request of the Department of Health. NICE works with independent EAGs. Currently, seven people at KEMTA are participating in an EAG for NICE.

For more information on the technology appraisal and diagnostic assessment programmes, see

You may perform work for the NICE EAG alongside your PhD project. This work consists of the assessment of the health economic evidence submitted by companies or de novo health economic model development (MS Excel or R), all within strict timelines and as part of a team consisting of KEMTA staff and colleagues in the UK. Writing policy reports, regular meetings and adherence to strict timelines are part of the NICE EAG work, which provides you with an excellent opportunity to develop your skills and knowledge while working in inspiring multidisciplinary teams with highly experienced scientists and on societally relevant cutting‑edge topics.

This work enables you to play a role in health policy making at a national level and to get close insight into cutting‑edge methods used in HTA, which is directly relevant to, and can shape, your PhD topic.

• Master degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. health economics, health technology assessment, epidemiology, medical statistics)
• A strong quantitative and analytical streak, as evidenced through master thesis topic or work experience.
• Experience with health economic modelling preferred.
• Ability to communicate clearly about complex topics, and to write scientifically to a very high standard.
• Ability to work individually, as well as in a multidisciplinary international team and to meet deadlines.
• Proficiency in English is required.

Are you fulfilling these requirements?
Then we’d love to hear from you!

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