Edifofon Akpan

Research Assistant

About

Name: Mr Edifofon Akpan
Email: e.akpan@unimelb.edu.au
Unit: Economics of Global Health and Infectious Diseases Unit, Melbourne Health Economics
School: Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Areas of Interest

Cost-Effectiveness Alongside Clinical Studies, Real-World Data Analysis, Decision Analytic Modelling

Biography

Edifofon’s interest is in health economic evaluation, in all its various forms. His research at Economics of Global Health and Infectious Diseases unit primarily focuses on costing and cost-effectiveness analyses of global health and infectious disease interventions. He completed his Master of Public Health degree at the University of Melbourne, specializing in health economics and economic evaluation. Currently, he is undertaking research training at Wellcome Doctoral Training Centre in Public Health Economics and Decision Science at The University of Sheffield in the UK. For the research (PhD) aspect of this program, he is focused on modelling the population health impacts of combined screening for multiple smoking-related cancers.

Publications

  1. Mandrik O, Thomas C, Akpan E, Catto JWF, and Chilcott J. Home Urine Dipstick Screening in High-Risk Populations in England: a Microsimulation Study of Long-Term Impact and Cost-Effectiveness. 2025. Forthcoming, accepted at PharmacoEconomics.
  2. Le TP, Conway E, Akpan E, Abell I, Abraham P, Baker CM, Campbell PT, Cromer D, Lydeamore MJ, McDonough Y, Mueller I, Ryan G, Walker C, Wang Y, Carvalho N, McVernon J. Cost-effective boosting allocations in the post-Omicron era of COVID-19 management. Submitted to BMJ Global Health. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.14.23298536 (preprint)
  3. Akpan E, Thean LJ, Baskota R, Mani J, Mow M, Kama M, Tuicakau M, Kado J, Romani L, Kaldor J, Engelman D, Steer AC, Carvalho N. Costs of primary healthcare presentations and hospital admissions for scabies and related skin infections in Fiji, 2018–2019. PLOS Glob Public Health 2024;4:e0003706. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003706.
  4. Mishra SR, Wilson T, Andrabi H, Ouakrim DA, Li A, Akpan E, Bentley R, Blakely T. The total health gains and cost savings of eradicating cold housing in Australia. Social Science & Medicine 2023; 334:115954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115954.
  5. Akpan E, Hossain SJ, Devine A, Braat S, Hasan MI, Tipu SMMU, Bhuiyan MSA, Hamadani JD, Biggs B-A, Pasricha S-R, Carvalho N. Cost-effectiveness of universal iron supplementation and iron-containing micronutrient powders for anemia among young children in rural Bangladesh: analysis of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2022; 116:1303–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqac225.
  6. Blakely T, Thompson J, Bablani L, Andersen P, Ait Ouakrim D, Carvalho N, Abraham P, Boujaoude M-A, Katar A, Akpan E, Wilson N, Stevenson M. Association of Simulated COVID-19 Policy Responses for Social Restrictions and Lockdowns With Health-Adjusted Life-Years and Costs in Victoria, Australia. JAMA Health Forum 2021; 2:e211749. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1749.
  7.  

Honours, Awards and Fellowships

  • Four-year PhD Science Studentship – covering university fees, annual stipend, and a research and training grant (2023-2027)
  • Australia Awards Africa long-term awards –  Masters scholarships for study in Australia (2020-2021)