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Staff Profile

Dr Asra Asgharzadeh

Senior Research Associate

Background

Asra holds a PhD in Health Economics and Policy and an MSc in Health Technology Assessment. She is a Senior Health Economist with over a decade of experience in health technology assessment (HTA), economic evaluation, and decision-analytic modelling to inform health policy and resource allocation. She has extensive expertise in developing de novo cost-effectiveness and budget impact models, critically appraising industry submissions, and delivering evidence reviews for national decision-making bodies.

Asra is currently contributing to high-quality evidence synthesis and economic evaluation to support NICE technology appraisals across diagnostics, therapeutics, and public health interventions. Her work spans single and multiple technology appraisals, diagnostic assessment reports, and real-world NHS service evaluations.

Prior to joining Newcastle University, Asra held academic and research positions at the Universities of Bristol and Warwick, contributing to NICE Evidence Review Group work and supervising postgraduate students in health economics and HTA. At the University of Bristol, she was part of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU), collaborating closely with infectious disease modellers on economic evaluations for blood-borne virus testing, HIV, hepatitis C, and emergency department screening interventions. She has led and contributed to projects funded by NIHR, NHS England, UKHSA, and international partners, with applications across infectious diseases, AI-enabled diagnostics, screening programmes, and service delivery redesign.

She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and regularly presents at national and international conferences. In addition to her research role, Asra is actively involved in teaching and supervision in health economics and HTA and is committed to capacity building within both academic and applied policy settings.

Publications

  • Articles

    • Walker, JG, Baggaley, RF, Myring, G, Irvine, MA, Asgharzadeh, A, Laurence, YV, Bell, E, Schoemig, V, Cross, E, Allison, S, Kundu, B, McNaughton, AL, Todd, R, Heath, R, Ward, Z, May, T, Hill-Tout, R, Hindle, S, Spencer, N, Bowman, C, Jackson, I, Horwood, J, Desai, M, Vickerman, P, Djuretic, T, Hickman, M, Mandal, S. Cost-effectiveness of emergency department opt-out testing for HIV in England: a modelling study. 2026. Submitted.
    • Simmons, R, Powell, AA, Ijaz, S, Mandal, S, Shute, J, Mohammadi, Y, Lattimore, M, McOwat, K, Moore, HL, ORourke, A, Desai, M, Macleod, J, Asgharzadeh, A, Ward, Z, Vickerman, P, Harris, RJ, Foster, GR, Roberts, K, Hickman, M. Pilot postal birth cohort hepatitis C virus screening in UK primary care: HepCAPP study. 2024.

  • Reports

  • Reviews

    • Geppert, J, Auguste, P, Asgharzadeh, A, Ghiasvand, H, Patel, M, Brown, A, Jayakody, S, Helm, E, Todkill, D, Madan, J, Stinton, C, Gallacher, D, Taylor-Phillips, S, Chen, Y-F. Software with artificial intelligence-derived algorithms for detecting and analysing lung nodules in CT scans: systematic review and economic evaluation. 2025. In Preparation.
    • Asgharzadeh, A, Patel, M, Connock, M, Damery, S, Ghosh, I, Jordan, M, Freeman, K, Brown, A, Court, R, Baldwin, S, Ogunlayi, F, Stinton, C, Cummins, E, Al-Khudairy, L. Hybrid closed-loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and economic modelling. 2024.
    • Burch, E, Khan, SA, Stone, J, Asgharzadeh, A, Dawe, J, Ward, Z, Brooks-Pollock, E, Christensen, H. Early mathematical models of COVID-19 vaccination in high-income countries: a systematic review. 2024.
    • Asgharzadeh A, Shabaninejad H, Aryankhesal A, Majdzadeh R. Instruments for assessing organisational capacity for use of evidence in health sector policy making: a systematic scoping review. Evidence & Policy: a journal of research, debate and practice 2021, 17(1), 29–57.