Understanding health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) from a non-health economist lens!

Eleni Tente is an experienced medical writer with proven ability to translate complex scientific information into clear, concise, and impactful content to diverse audiences. She has a strong background in integrated evidence planning, publications, internal communications and e-learning development, complemented by an understanding of various therapeutic areas.

Eleni holds a PhD in molecular biology and genetics from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in plant genetic manipulation from the University of Nottingham.

In her free time, Eleni enjoys diving into a good book, fishing along the coast, or planning her next thrilling scuba diving adventure to swim with sharks.

Syed Salleh brings extensive experience in HTA modeling, having successfully led the development of both de novo and adaptation models for HTA listings across multiple countries, including Malaysia, Philippines, and the UK. His work spans key therapeutic franchises such as oncology, cardiometabolic, and respiratory. Syed has also delivered critical insights to healthcare professionals through MYSPOR, ITTP, and IKN virtual CME events and numerous publications.

He holds a PhD in Health and Related Research from the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield, UK, with a specialization in HTA and operational research, specifically in discrete-event simulation (DES) technique.

During his time in a leading pharmaceutical company, Syed played a key role in securing the listing of several key products in the Malaysia Ministry of Health Formulary and served as the primary contact for DES-related projects.

Besides work, Syed enjoys traveling, listening to music, and spending quality time with his family.

Thaison Tong has extensive work experience in health economics, decision modelling and big data analysis. He has a unique mix of experience in HEOR and RWE related research in academia and pharmaceutical industry. His expertise lies in health technology assessments (HTA), health economic modelling, simulation modelling, big data analytics and decision analysis. He has hands-on experience in a range of software and programming languages including R, R Shiny, R Markdown, Python, MS Excel, VBA, and Simul8. He has substantial experience of the health care system in the UK and other European countries.

Thaison has direct experience in building cost-effectiveness models from scratch and conducting big data analysis in several disease areas including dementia, vascular disease, and cancer.

Thaison’s PhD focus was to develop a de novo patient level model for the evaluation of different cognitive screening tests for early detection of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in primary care. He also looked at different methods for conducting economic evaluation in health care taking a broader/societal perspective. In addition, he investigated the use of Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for economic evaluation.

Thaison also holds Academic Researcher position in School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, UK and Honorary Researcher position in University of Bristol, UK.

Thaison’s likes to meditate, and play badminton, basketball and tennis.

Shilpi Swami is an internationally recognized leader in consulting, named among the World’s Top 25 Women Leaders in Consulting 2025 – a distinction that spans the entire consulting industry. She also serves as Chair-Elect of the ISPOR Oncology Special Interest Group and is a frequent speaker at leading scientific and policy forums, where she brings clarity and authority to complex healthcare access challenges.

As Vice President of Consulting and Strategy at ConnectHEOR, Shilpi provides both scientific and strategic leadership, guiding evidence generation and market access initiatives across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australia. She has led numerous high-stakes HTA submissions and access strategies, combining methodological rigor with practical solutions that resonate with regulators, payers, and biopharma stakeholders.

Her multidimensional career – spanning academia, consulting, and biopharma equips her with a rare ability to bridge perspectives across research, policy, and industry. Previously a Research Fellow at the University of York, she contributed to advancing best practices in public health and health economics.

Shilpi is widely respected not only for her expertise but also for her people-first approach. She embodies the belief that Kindness is Cost-Effective™, demonstrating that strength in leadership comes from pairing scientific excellence with empathy, collaboration, and impact.

Hugo brings in a wealth of experience to ConnectHEOR from his extensive work in academia, focusing primarily on evidence synthesis and meta-analysis. Hugo holds PhD in Statistical Modelling from University of Briston and MSc in Medical Statistics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and his background in neuroscience remains a passionate interest. Alongside working with ConnectHEOR, Hugo continues to part of NICE committee. His expertise includes advanced indirect treatment comparisons technique and has extensive experience of working with the NICE in UK. 

Beyond professional endeavors, Hugo is an enthusiastic outdoor adventurer, particularly enjoying mountain activities, climbing and ski mountaineering. From building rafts to exploring rivers in north of Sweden, he has lived an adventurous life outside of work and plans to continue to do so.

Kunal Hriday is a business strategy and data science professional with experience in helping organizations crack through notorious business challenges. Kunal is proficient building scalable AI products, specialized Intelligence, automations, business analytics, product lifecycle management and business development. Working as a Data science professional he has spent time in problem solving across variety of industries including Banking, logistics and Health and is now fully dedicated to HEOR. Kunal has hands on experience in various statistical programming tools and languages.

He also holds a masters’ in Quantitative Economics from Indian Statistical Institute and a bachelors’ degree in Business Economics. Excellent in business communication, he is passionate about studying environmental economics and related theories of welfare optimization.

Kunal is trained in Indian Classical Music and finds solace in music when not at work.

Raju Gautam spearheads evidence review at ConnectHEOR and  has extensive work experience in evidence review and synthesis, value communications, scientific publications, medical writing and project management.
His expertise lies in systematic and targeted literature reviews, meta-analyses, network meta-analyses, value communications (AMCP and Global Value Dossiers), RWE study design and publications (manuscripts, posters, and abstracts).
He has experience working in Global pharma companies, consulting and CRO environment for several therapy areas including Cardiovascular, Oncology, Neurology, Respiratory, Ophthalmic, Rare Diseases, and Vaccines. He has more than 40 publications in international journals as an author.
Raju also likes jogging, yoga and meditation.

Radha Sharma spearheads Patient-Centered Outcomes Research at ConnectHEOR. She has a background in medicine, public health, and epidemiology.

Her expertise includes global health research, preference elicitation, mixed-method studies, consensus workshops, qualitative health research, epidemiological analysis of big data sets, RWE study design, scientific writing, and literature reviews. Her primary focus is integrating patient perspectives into all stages of health technology assessment (HTA) and healthcare decision-making processes.

Her extensive expertise in mixed-method studies and active patient/stakeholder engagement ensures that her research is methodologically rigorous and patient-centric. Radha is an avid hiker and enjoys exploring the beautiful Canadian Rockies.

Kate spearheads Statistics and Evidence Synthesis at ConnectHEOR. She has more than 10 years of experience in conducting statistical analysis in HTA. Kate has PhD in Probability and Statistics specialising in Bayesian methods in clinical trial design.

She specializes in Bayesian methods in health economics and the elicitation of experts’ beliefs and has extensive experience of conducting evidence synthesis, including, meta-analysis, network meta-analysis, MAIC, STC, ML-NMR etc. Besides working with ConnectHEOR, she is also a part of NICE Committee and University of Sheffield.

Tushar Srivastava is a health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) leader whose journey spans academia, consulting, and the life sciences industry – bringing a rare breadth of perspective to evidence generation. Endorsed as a Global Talent by the Royal Society, UK, and holding an MSc in Statistics and Computing, he has authored numerous publications in modeling, indirect treatment comparisons, patient-centered outcomes research, evidence reviews, and AI.

He has built a reputation for uniting scientific excellence with technological innovation. From developing decision models himself to shaping and mentoring world-class modeling teams, Tushar has consistently advanced the science and practice of HEOR with a forward-looking, technology-driven vision.

At ConnectHEOR, Tushar directs HEOR activities and leads the integration of responsible AI into evidence generation. His vision is transforming the field from a human-only framework to an intelligent, interactive, and scalable hybrid intelligence framework – where human expertise works in synergy with AI.

Working diligently to improve patient lives through research and technology, he brings scientific rigor and technological foresight to projects across diverse therapy areas and health technologies, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, and public health programs. His work is widely published and presented internationally, reflecting both methodological depth and innovative thinking.

He believes that Kindness is Cost-Effective™ and continues to ensure that ConnectHEOR’s science and technology are always guided by a human-centered ethos.