Economics of Genomics and Precision Medicine Unit (@eigen-uom.bsky.social)

Quantifying the Value of Advanced Cell Therapy for Long-term Autoimmune Conditions: CAR-T Cell Therapy for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus : Find an Expert : The University of Melbourne Systemic lupus erythematosus is a lifelong health condition where a person’s immune system starts to attack their own body. As a result, many organs in the body become permanently damaged (including the skin, heart, kidneys and brain). This damage leads to a substantial quality of life burden, a lower ability to perform usual daily activities, and lower life expectancy compared with the general population. This burden is also very unequal across diverse groups of individuals. Most people affected are younger women, and more likely to be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (in Australia) and of Black African/Caribbean and South Asian descent (in the UK). There are only a couple of treatments available for people with lupus. When these treatments don’t work, the condition continues to cause damage and harm to patients. However, a new promising type of treatment (called CAR-T cell therapy) is starting to emerge. CAR-T cell therapy is a type of precision medicine that works by infusing modified immune cells to fight against a patient’s lupus. Healthcare systems in the UK and Australia have excellent experience of using CAR-T cell therapies for other health conditions. There is now a growing need to understand the value of CAR-T cell therapy for severe lifelong health conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus. In this PhD, you will address this need with health economics methods. These methods are essential to guide health policy decisions globally, and the findings will have a positive impact to move these new treatments closer to benefiting people with lupus. You will be based at the Manchester Centre for Health Economics (The University of Manchester), and will have a 12-month research visit to the Economics of Genomics and Precision Medicine Unit (The University of Melbourne). You will be supervised by a world leading multi-disciplinary team of experts in the health economics of advanced cell therapies and lupus (Gavan), precision medicine (Payne, Goranitis) and doctors who test CAR-T cell therapies for cancer and lupus (Thistlethwaite, Parker). The PhD will be split into three projects. First, you will use data from an important national register of patients with lupus (called the BILAG-BR) to understand health outcomes (life expectancy and quality of life) for people who don’t respond well to treatments in current practice. Second, you will perform a discrete choice experiment to quantify people’s preferences for receiving a CAR-T cell therapy, and its likely uptake in routine care. Third, you will run an early model-based cost-effectiveness analysis of CAR-T cell therapy compared with standard of care to simulate the lifetime costs, health outcomes, and value for people with lupus. You will develop skills in research collaborations with patients and the public, health economic evaluation, statistical analysis of real-world patient data, quantitative preference elicitation, project management, and communicating with policymakers and clinical leaders. The findings will have a direct impact on improving the lives of people with lupus, by stimulating future treatments, informing service delivery, and guiding research and development strategies within the UK and Australia. Applications should include a cover letter outlining the applicant’s interest in the project and explaining how their skills, background, and experience make them a strong fit for this PhD. https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/opportunity/1648-quantifying-the-value-of-advanced-cell-therapy-for-long-term-autoimmune-conditions--car-t-cell-therapy-for-systemic-lupus-erythematosus