Ms Mahlaka HASSAN
Grant-Funded Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Public Health
College of Health
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.
| 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 |
| 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 | Competency |
|---|---|
| English | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| Urdu | Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| 2025 | Luc, I., Laka, M., Carter, D., & Merlin, T. (2025). Funding Multi-indication Medicines: A Scoping Review of Health Technology Assessment and Reimbursement Frameworks. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 15 pages. |
| 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. Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC3 |
| 2023 | 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 WoS5 Europe PMC5 |
| 2023 | 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. Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC3 |
| 2022 | 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), 100652--100652-7. Scopus20 WoS17 |
| 2021 | Laka, M., Milazzo, A., & Merlin, T. (2021). Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing: understanding clinicians. Australian Health Review, 46(1), 21-27. Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC7 |
| 2021 | 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. Scopus55 WoS48 Europe PMC41 |
| 2020 | 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. Scopus35 WoS32 Europe PMC29 |
| 2020 | 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. Scopus9 |
| 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. DOI |
| 2021 | 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). DOI |
| 2019 | 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 WoS1 |
| 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). DOI |
| 2020 | 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 WoS2 |
| 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. DOI WoS12 |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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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