Brendan Mulhern

Associate Professor Brendan Mulhern (University of Technology Sydney) is a health economist and outcomes researcher at the Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE). He leads the Cancer Australia-funded Cancer Quality of Life Expert Support Team (CQUEST) and joined UTS in 2015, completing his PhD in 2020.

• BSc (Hons) Psychology, University of Wolverhampton (UK)
• MRes Psychology, University of Birmingham (UK)
• PhD Health Economics, University of Technology Sydney (Australia)

His research focuses on developing and validating preference-based quality-of-life measures (EQ-5D, SF-6D) using advanced psychometric techniques like item response theory and discrete choice experiments. He specializes in condition-specific instruments for dementia, epilepsy, and diabetes, and has contributed to valuation methods including time trade-off approaches. His recent work examines context effects in palliative care valuation, cross-cultural value set development (e.g., Ghana), and improving respondent engagement in DCE studies.

Key projects include:

• Developing the EQ-5D-5L Ghanaian value set
• Testing EQ-5D respiratory bolt-ons in Australia
• Extending QALY framework through instrument combination
• Validating care recipient burden scales

He has received grants from EuroQol Research Foundation, Cancer Australia, and MRFF for methodological advancements in quality-of-life measurement. His work informs health technology assessment and resource allocation decisions globally.