Padraig Dixon

My research interests relate to economic issues associated with the increasing availability of genetic data, particularly in relation to how these data might be used to support causal inference, prognostic modelling, and in the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of stratified therapies. This work has encompassed a number of different diseases areas (such as cancer and cardiovascular disease), traits (such as adiposity), and behaviours (such as smoking). A current area of focus is Alzheimer's disease and related phenotypes in my role as an NIHR Fellow in Dementia Research. 

In addition to my role in the Department, I am the Junior Research Fellow in Social Sciences in the Centre for Personalised Medicine at St Anne’s College, Oxford. I am also the Associate Director in Health Economics for the Central and South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance. 

I hold degrees in Economics from Trinity College Dublin (BA) and Nuffield College, Oxford (MPhil and DPhil), and in Health Economics from the University of York (MSc). I hold a diploma in Financial Management awarded by the ACCA.

Before joining the Department, I completed a three-year Medical Research Council Skills Development Fellowship at the Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol. This personal fellowship used Mendelian Randomization to study the causal effect of traits, behaviours and health conditions on healthcare costs and on quality of life. I also worked for a number of years as an economic consultant in the private sector, advising regulators, governments and large corporates on the economic issues that arise in the regulation of network industries.