Ms Mah HASSAN
Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
School of Public Health
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Dr Mah Laka is an early career researcher in the field of public health. She is a clinical epidemiologist with specific interests in health technology assessment and digital health. Mah Laka has a background in Health Science (Bioinformatics) with First Class Honours and recently a PhD within the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide.
Her PhD project titled "The Role of Computer based Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) in Improving Antibiotic Management" focused on the assessment of the feasibility and sustainability of electronic decision support tools for evidence-based decision making.
Her research interests include health technology assessment (HTA), clinical epidemiology, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, digital health and developing methodologies for evaluating medical services or health interventions.
Currently, she is employed as a Research Associate in Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA) and involved in evaluating medical services, devices, programs or pharmaceuticals to help policy-makers decide whether they should be publicly funded.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2022 - ongoing Research Associate University of Adelaide 2019 - 2021 Part-time teaching lecturer University of Adelaide 2017 - 2018 Research Associate National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2021 Award Best Oral Presentation Health Technology Assessment International United Kingdom - 2019 Award School of Public Health Prize School of Public Health, The University of Adelaide Australia - 2019 Award Florey Medical Research Foundation Prize Florey Medical Research Foundation Australia - 2019 Award Northern Communities Health Foundation Prize Northern Communities Health Foundation Australia - 2019 Scholarship Research Travel Scholarship University of Adelaide Australia 1500 2019 Scholarship Walter Dorothy & Duncan Trust Grant Walter Dorothy & Duncan Trust Australia - -
Language Competencies
Language Competency English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review Urdu Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2018 - 2022 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Doctor of Philosophy 2012 - 2016 COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad Pakistan Bachelor of Science -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 Gao, Y., Laka, M., & Merlin, T. (2025). Does regulatory and reimbursement parallel processing provide swifter funded access to medicines for patients? Evaluation of cancer medicines using the Australian parallel process. Value in Health, 28(3), 431-440.
2024 Laka, M., Merlin, T., & Carter, D. (2024). Evaluating clinical decision support software (CDSS): challenges for robust evidence generation. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 40(1), e16-1-e16-7.
Scopus3 Europe PMC12023 Gao, Y., Laka, M., & Merlin, T. (2023). Is the quality of evidence in health technology assessment deteriorating over time? A case study on cancer drugs in Australia. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 39(1), e28-1-e28-9.
Scopus5 Europe PMC42023 Huyan, J., Ramkissoon, C., Laka, M., & Gaskin, S. (2023). Assessing the Usefulness of Mobile Apps for Noise Management in Occupational Health and Safety: Quantitative Measurement and Expert Elicitation Study.. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 11(1), e46846.
Scopus3 Europe PMC32022 Laka, M., Carter, D., & Merlin, T. (2022). OP70 Gaps In The Evaluation Of Clinical Decision Support Software (CDSS): Interviews With Australian Policymakers. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 38(S1), S26.
2022 Laka, M., Carter, D., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2022). Challenges and opportunities in implementing clinical decision support systems (CDSS) at scale: interviews with Australian policymakers. Health Policy and Technology, 11(3), 7 pages.
Scopus16 WoS12021 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2021). Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing: understanding clinicians. Australian Health Review, 46(1), 21-27.
Scopus6 WoS1 Europe PMC32021 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2021). Factors That Impact the Adoption of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) for Antibiotic Management. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1-14.
Scopus50 WoS11 Europe PMC372020 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2020). Can evidence-based decision support tools transform antibiotic management? A systematic review and meta-analyses. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 75(5), 1099-1111.
Scopus31 WoS18 Europe PMC232020 LAKA, M. A. H., MILAZZO, A., & MERLIN, T. (2020). Factors that impact the adoption of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) in healthcare settings for evidence-based decision making.
2014 Azam, S. S., Abbasi, S. W., Akhtar, A. S., & Mirza, M. L. (2014). Comparative modeling and molecular docking studies of d-Alanine:d-alanine ligase: A target of antibacterial drugs. Medicinal Chemistry Research, 23(9), 4108-4137.
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2022 Laka, M., Carter, D., & Merlin, T. (2022). Gaps in the Evaluation of Clinical Decision Support Software (CDSS): Interviews with Australian Policymakers. In Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Annual Meeting. Utrecht, The Netherlands.
DOI2021 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2021). Challenges and opportunities to appropriate antibiotic prescribing: a survey of clinicians' perceptions in Australia. In INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY Vol. 50 (pp. 2 pages). OXFORD UNIV PRESS. 2021 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., Carter, D., & Merlin, T. (2021). From Pilot Studies To System-Wide Innovation: Challenges And Opportunities For Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) Implementation In Australia. In International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 37 , Special Issue S1: Innovation through HTA , December 2021 Vol. 37 (pp. 5-6). Manchester: Cambridge University Press (CUP).
DOI2019 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2019). Sustainable Implementation of Electronic Decision Support Tools for the Evidence-based Management of Antibiotics. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Digital Public Health (pp. 7-8). online: ACM.
DOI Scopus1 -
Conference Items
Year Citation 2023 Gao, Y., Laka, M., & Merlin, T. (2023). Is The Quality Of Evidence in HTA Deteriorating Over Time?: A Case Study on Cancer Drugs In Australia. Poster session presented at the meeting of Health Technology Assessment International. 2022 Gao, Y., Laka, M., & Merlin, T. (2022). OP20 Is The Quality Of Evidence In Health Technology Assessment Deteriorating Over Time?: A Case Study On Cancer Drugs In Australia. Poster session presented at the meeting of International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. Cambridge University Press (CUP).
DOI2020 Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2020). Why provision of clinical decision support (CDS) is not enough? Factors influencing the CDS adoption. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. OXFORD UNIV PRESS.
DOI WoS1 -
Report for External Bodies
Year Citation 2024 Laka, M., Carter, D., Gao, Y., Choi, O., Tamblyn, D., & Merlin, T. (2024). International health technology market approval, funding and assessment pathways (1). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. 2024 Merlin, T., Laka, M., Carter, D., Gao, Y., Choi, Y. -S., Parsons, J., . . . Tamblyn, D. (2024). Health Technology Assessment Policy and Methods Review: HTA Pathways and Processes, Clinical Evaluation Methods and Horizon Scanning. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia. 2022 Morona, J., Mittal, R., Laka, M., Parsons, J., & Schubert, C. (2022). Whole Genome Sequencing for the diagnosis of mitochondrial disease. (MSAC APplication 1675). Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2024 Co-Supervisor The Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HTA: Exploring the Risks and Benefits. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Yuan Gao
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Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2022 - 2022 Member Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Australia 2020 - ongoing Member International Epidemiological Association (IEA) United States 2019 - ongoing Member Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Australia 2019 - ongoing Member Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) Australia 2019 - ongoing Member Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) Australia
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External Profiles
