Valerie Wester

Valerie Wester is a Visiting Fellow at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, specializing in the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) research group. Her work focuses on the economic and societal impacts of health interventions, particularly in chronic neurological disorders.

Research Interests: Her primary research areas include health technology assessment, health economics, quality of life measurement, caregiver burden, cost-effectiveness analysis, and public health policy. She investigates how health interventions affect not only patients but also their caregivers, advocating for broader inclusion of caregiver outcomes in health technology assessments.

The recent body of her research, derived from the EPISODE study, centers on the clinical and economic evaluation of seizure dogs for individuals with severe refractory epilepsy. Additional work explores caregiver quality of life in Alzheimer’s disease across severity stages. These studies reflect a consistent focus on patient- and caregiver-centered outcomes in health policy.

Scientific Contributions:

• Published in high-impact journals including Neurology, Value in Health, and Health Economics, Policy and Law.
• Research has been cited in Scopus and widely downloaded, indicating strong academic and policy relevance.
• Work has received media attention from 13 news outlets and engagement on social platforms.

Advising and Grants: As a Visiting Fellow and recent PhD graduate, she is actively contributing to collaborative research projects. While no formal students or grants are listed, her involvement in multi-institutional studies like EPISODE suggests participation in funded research initiatives and mentorship within research teams.

Labs and Teams: She is affiliated with the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) research group at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, collaborating with leading researchers such as Talitha Kanters, Werner Brouwer, and John van Exel. This team is known for its methodological rigor in economic evaluation and health policy modeling.