Athanasios (Nassos) Gkekas
Health Economist
Profile
Biography
Nassos is a health economist, who graduated in BSc Economics and MSc Health Economics from the University of York. During his MSc dissertation he worked as an intern at WHO to investigate the inequalities in the affordability of fluoride toothpaste around the globe. His findings have generated a new oral health indicator, included in WHO Global Health Observatory. Additionally, Nassos graduated with an MSc in Quantitative Economics from the University of Glasgow in 2020.
Having started his PhD at the University of York in 2020, he has explored the cost-effectiveness of faster recruitment to the RECOVERY trial, the costs of attrition in the OTIS trial, and the cost-effectiveness of existing recruitment and retention strategies. He has also developed a framework for funders to make efficient investment decisions for future SWATs of recruitment and retention strategies. His PhD supervisors are Professor David Torgerson, Dr. Adwoa Parker and Sarah Ronaldson. He expects to submit his thesis in 2023.
He has also been involved with an initiative led by WHO to recommend cost-effective, “best buy” oral health interventions for low- and middle-income countries, as part of a recent WHO global health action plan on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases.
His research interests include economic evaluations alongside trials, health economics of SWATs, and oral health economics.
Qualifications:
- MSc Quantitative Economics, University of Glasgow
- MSc Health Economics, University of York
- BSc Economics, University of York
Research
Overview
Nassos has an interest in the following:
- Studies Within a Trial (SWATs)
- Economic evaluation alongside trials
- Decision modelling
- Systematic reviews
- Global Oral Health
Research group(s)
Teaching
Other teaching
- Further Regression Analysis (2020 - 2021) (2021- 2022), Teaching Assistant
- Introduction to Regression Analysis (2021-2022), Teaching Assistant
External activities
Memberships
- MRC-NIHR Trials Methodology Research Partnership (TMRP)
- Trial Forge (link: https://www.trialforge.org)
- WHO Best Buys for Oral Health Analytics Team