Dr James Buchanan, MA DPhil

Profile

I am a health economist based in the Health Economics and Policy Research Unit, in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health (WIPH). I joined Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in 2023 as a Senior Lecturer. Prior to joining QMUL, I worked at the University of Oxford for 18 years, first as a Researcher, then a Senior Researcher. At WIPH, my role is to lead on work on the health economic aspects of precision diagnosis and treatment and translation research, across the Barts Biomedical Research Centre.

I hold a BA in Economics (University of Nottingham), an MA in Economic Development and Policy Analysis (University of Nottingham) and a DPhil in Health Economics (University of Oxford). My doctoral research investigated issues related to the economic analysis of genomic diagnostic technologies for multifactorial genetic diseases in the UK NHS.

My research focuses on applying economic methods to quantify the value of precision medicine for stakeholders in the health system. I have a particular interest in understanding the costs and benefits of genome sequencing in people with cancer and rare diseases, in particular newborns. I have undertaken and published economic evaluations, outcomes studies, microcosting analyses, and discrete choice experiments in this space, working alongside national population sequencing initiatives such as the Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project. I also curate the Health Economics and Genomics blog.

Beyond genomics and precision medicine, I have worked on health economic studies across a wide range of clinical contexts, including antibiotic prescribing and antimicrobial resistance, treatment for malaria and management of AIDS complications. I also teach graduate and undergraduate students, and supervise PhD students.

Research

Research Interests:

My main research interest is in the application of health economic methods to quantify the value of precision medicine for patients, their families, clinicians and the broader health system. I have a particular interest in understanding the costs and benefits of genome sequencing in people with cancer and rare diseases, in particular newborns. I conduct trial- and model-based economic evaluations, undertake research into the health and non-health outcomes of healthcare interventions, carry out microcosting studies, and apply stated preference approaches such as discrete choice experiments. At Queen Mary University of London I am leading on work on the health economic aspects of precision diagnosis and treatment and translation research, across the Barts Biomedical Research Centre.

Publications

1. The 100,000 Genomes Project Pilot Investigators [includes Buchanan J]. 100,000 Genomes Pilot on Rare-Disease Diagnosis in Health Care - Preliminary Report. N Engl J Med. 2021 Nov 11;385(20):1868-1880. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2035790
2. Schwarze K, Buchanan J, Fermont J et al. The complete costs of genome sequencing: A micro-costing study in cancer and rare diseases from a single centre in the United Kingdom. Genetics in Medicine (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-019-0618-7
3. Schwarze K, Buchanan J, Taylor JC, Wordsworth S. Are whole exome and whole genome sequencing approaches cost-effective? A systematic review of the literature. Genetics in Medicine 2018;20,1122–1130. https://doi.org/10.1038/gim.2017.247
4. Buchanan J, Wordsworth S, Clifford R, Robbe P, Taylor JC, Schuh A, Knight SJL. Using genomic information to guide ibrutinib treatment decisions in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a cost-effectiveness analysis. PharmacoEconomics 2017;35,845–858. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40273-017-0519-z

Buchanan J, Wordsworth S, Schuh A. Issues surrounding the health economic evaluation of genomic technologies. Pharmacogenomics 2013;14(15):1833-47. https://doi.org/10.2217/pgs.13.183.

Supervision

Sally Hartmanis, University of Oxford, “Valuing the outcomes associated with genome sequencing in economic evaluations”