Professor Rachael Morton
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Professor Rachael Morton

Professor
Deputy Director, NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre
Director, Health Economics &
Health Technology Assessment
Professor Rachael Morton

Rachael Morton is Professor and Director of health economics and health technology assessment at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. She specialises in trial-based and modelled economic evaluation, and elicitation of patient preferences using discrete choice experiments. Her research incorporates patient-centred and economic outcomes into clinical trials of diagnostic tests, new treatments and models of care to facilitate policy decision-making on the basis of cost-effectiveness.

Professor Morton’s research interests include the health economics of melanoma, and chronic kidney disease. She also has an interest in health equity in disadvantaged populations both in Australia and overseas. Her methodological interests include systematic reviews of economic evidence, assessment of test evaluation and monitoring, measurement of quality of life and wellbeing, and end-of-life care.

Prof Morton coordinates short courses in health economics for government and industry and currently supervises 7 PhD candidates.

Professor Morton’s current melanoma projects include:

the cost-effectiveness of whole brain radiotherapy for brain metastases; the cost-effectiveness of pelvic lymph node surgery; the benefits and harms of CT and PET/CT surveillance in stage III melanoma; the cost-effectiveness of specialized surveillance in individuals at high risk of melanoma; the cost-effectiveness of presenting genomic risk information, and the safety and efficacy of high-dose Vitamin D to prevent melanoma recurrence. Many of these trials have been made possible through her longstanding collaboration with the Australia and New Zealand Melanoma Trials Group (ANZMTG), and the Melanoma Institute Australia.

Professor Morton’s current kidney projects include the cost-effectiveness of coronary artery disease screening in wait-listed recipients (CARSK trial); the impact of social determinants on kidney disease outcomes using data from the Study of Heart and Renal Protection (SHARP); a Cochrane review of interventions to aid employment for people on dialysis; and the evaluation of an advance care planning intervention for older patients managed with dialysis. Analysis of the SHARP trial data is a result of her overseas NHMRC fellowship and collaboration with the Health Economics Research Centre at the University of Oxford, UK in 2013-2015; as well as ongoing links with King’s College London.

The above studies are being undertaken with a range of collaborators at Sydney University, the Melanoma Institute Australia, the University of Ottawa & University of British Columbia, [Canada] and the University of Bristol, King’s College London & University of Oxford, [UK].

-Past President, Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand (HSRAANZ)

-Guest discussant, Economics Sub Committee of Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, 2013, 2015, 2016

-Executive member, Dialysis Advisory Committee, Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology (ANZSN)

-Expert reference group – Joanna Briggs Institute

-Member, Cochrane Equity Methods Group

-Member, International Health Economics Association

2019 - Supervisor of the Year (SUPRA), Sydney Medical School

2019 - Faculty Member & Honorary Investigator, Melanoma Institute Australia

2015 - Helen Triantyfallou Conference award, (Top ranked applicant) Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney

2010 - Dean’s prize for Student Research publications, Commendation, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney

Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, Healthy Ageing
Project titleResearch student
The role of routinely collected administrative data for healthcare resource use measurement in clinical trials and economic evaluationsSalma FAHRIDIN
Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) to assess patient and clinician preferences for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven skin cancer diagnosisLorelie FLOOD
Out of hospital cardiac arrest patients: A costing studyKyumin JANG
The FLIRT Trial: A phase III international multi-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of fluoroquinolone-based therapy versus placebo for isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis.Yuling KE
Incorporating environmental impacts into health technology assessmentsJake WILLIAMS

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Morton, R., Webster, A. (2014). Quality of Life in Chronic Kidney Disease. In Mustafa Arici (Eds.), Management of Chronic Kidney Disease, (pp. 487-499). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. [More Information]

Journals

  • Nikolovski, J., Kim, B., Morton, R., Mercieca-Bebber, R., Levesque, J., Tinsley, M., Sutherland, K., Rossiter, B., Fagan, M., Hartas, G., Rutherford, C. (2025). Strategies to promote the completion of patient-reported outcome measures by culturally and linguistically diverse and Indigenous Peoples in clinical care settings: A systematic review. Quality of Life Research. [More Information]
  • Hole, B., Coast, J., Caskey, F., Selman, L., Rooshenas, L., Kimpton, G., Snead, C., Field, A., Morton, R. (2024). A choice experiment of older patients’ preferences for kidney failure treatments. Kidney International. [More Information]
  • Burns, B., Marschner, I., Eggins, R., Buscher, H., Morton, R., Bendall, J., Keech, A., Dennis, M. (2024). A randomized trial of expedited intra-arrest transfer versus more extended on-scene resuscitation for refractory out of hospital cardiac arrest: Rationale and design of the EVIDENCE trial. American Heart Journal, 267, 22-32. [More Information]

Conferences

  • Jaure, A., Tjaden, L., Howard, K., Wong, G., Morton, R., Craig, J. (2011). Quality of Life of Adolescent Kidney Transplant Recipients. 2011 Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ), 29th Annual Scientific Meeting, Canberra, Australia.

2025

  • Nikolovski, J., Kim, B., Morton, R., Mercieca-Bebber, R., Levesque, J., Tinsley, M., Sutherland, K., Rossiter, B., Fagan, M., Hartas, G., Rutherford, C. (2025). Strategies to promote the completion of patient-reported outcome measures by culturally and linguistically diverse and Indigenous Peoples in clinical care settings: A systematic review. Quality of Life Research. [More Information]

2024

  • Hole, B., Coast, J., Caskey, F., Selman, L., Rooshenas, L., Kimpton, G., Snead, C., Field, A., Morton, R. (2024). A choice experiment of older patients’ preferences for kidney failure treatments. Kidney International. [More Information]
  • Burns, B., Marschner, I., Eggins, R., Buscher, H., Morton, R., Bendall, J., Keech, A., Dennis, M. (2024). A randomized trial of expedited intra-arrest transfer versus more extended on-scene resuscitation for refractory out of hospital cardiac arrest: Rationale and design of the EVIDENCE trial. American Heart Journal, 267, 22-32. [More Information]
  • Nikolovski, J., Morton, R., Mercieca-Bebber, R., Armstrong, M., Hartas, G., Rossiter, B., Fagan, M., Tinsley, M., Snyder, C., Aiyegbusi, O., Rutherford, C., et al (2024). Acceptability and timing considerations when administering patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) among people with chronic health conditions who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD): a qualitative study protocol. BMJ Open, 14(9), e083346. [More Information]

2023

  • Wei, Z., Gilbert, Y., Thananjeyan, A., Cope, J., Morton, R., Li, A., Pham, C., Ward, M., Oei, J. (2023). A Systematic Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Children, 10(10). [More Information]
  • Shah, K., Wyld, M., Hedley, J., Waller, K., De La Mata, N., Webster, A., Morton, R. (2023). Cost-effectiveness of Kidney Transplantation From Donors at Increased Risk of Blood-borne Virus Infection Transmission. Transplantation, 107(9), 2028-2042. [More Information]
  • Taylor, W., Tuffaha, H., Hawley, C., Peyton, P., Higgins, A., Scuffham, P., Nemeh, F., Balagurunathan, A., Hansen, P., Jacques, A., Morton, R. (2023). Embedding stakeholder preferences in setting priorities for health research: Using a discrete choice experiment to develop a multi-criteria tool for evaluating research proposals. PloS One, 18(2023-12-12 00:00:00). [More Information]

2022

  • Law, C., Stevenson, A., Solomon, M., Hague, W., Simes, R., Morton, R. (2022). ASO Author Reflections: Is laparoscopic-Assisted Surgery More Costly than Traditional Open Resection for Rectal Cancer Treatment? Annals of Surgical Oncology, 29(3), 1935-1936. [More Information]
  • Mahumud, R., Janda, M., Soyer, H., Fernandez Penas, P., Mar, V., Morton, R. (2022). Assessing the value of precision medicine health technologies to detect and manage melanoma. Medical Journal of Australia, 217(6), 275-278. [More Information]
  • Nagarajan, S., Lewis, V., Halcomb, E., Rhee, J., Morton, R., Mitchell, G., Tieman, J., Phillips, J., Detering, K., Gavin, J., Clayton, J. (2022). Barriers and facilitators to nurse-led advance care planning and palliative care practice change in primary healthcare: a qualitative study. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 28(2), 151-157. [More Information]

2021

  • de Jong, Y., van der Willik, E., Milders, J., Voorend, C., Morton, R., Dekker, F., Meuleman, Y., van Diepen, M. (2021). A meta-review demonstrates improved reporting quality of qualitative reviews following the publication of COREQ- and ENTREQ-checklists, regardless of modest uptake. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 21(1), 184. [More Information]
  • Dieng, M., Morton, R. (2021). ASO Author Reflections: Longitudinal Diagnostic Accuracy of Surveillance Imaging in Resected Stage III Melanoma Patients. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 28(8), 4570-4571. [More Information]
  • Watts, C., McLoughlin, K., Goumas, C., Van Kemenade, C., Aitken, J., Soyer, H., Fernandez Penas, P., Guitera, P., Scolyer, R., Morton, R., Menzies, S., Caruana, M., Kang, Y., Mann, G., Madronio, C., Armstrong, B., Thompson, J., Cust, A., et al (2021). Association between Melanoma Detected during Routine Skin Checks and Mortality. JAMA Dermatology, 157(12), 1425-1436. [More Information]

2020

  • van der Tol, A., Stel, V., Jager, K., Lameire, N., Morton, R., Van Biesen, W., Vanholder, R. (2020). A call for harmonization of European kidney care: dialysis reimbursement and distribution of kidney replacement therapies. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 35(6), 979-986. [More Information]
  • Livingstone, A., Morton, R. (2020). ASO Author Reflections: Important Factors for Adjuvant Immunotherapy Treatment Decisions for Stage II-IV Melanoma Patients and Their Clinicians. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 27(2), 585-586. [More Information]
  • Watts, C., Smith, A., Robinson, S., Chang, C., Goumas, C., Schmid, H., Kelly, J., Hong, A., Scolyer, R., Long, G., Spillane, A., Morton, R., Saw, R., Varey, A., Mann, G., Thompson, J., Cust, A., et al (2020). Australian general practitioners' attitudes and knowledge of sentinel lymph node biopsy in melanoma management. Australian Journal of General Practice, 49(6), 355-362. [More Information]

2019

  • Sellars, M., Morton, R., Clayton, J., Jaure, A., Mawren, D., Silvester, W., Power, D., Ma, R., Detering, K. (2019). A case-control study of end-of-life treatment preferences and costs following advance care planning for adults with end stage kidney disease. Nephrology, 24(2), 148-154. [More Information]
  • van der Tol, A., Lameire, N., Morton, R., van Biesen, W., Vanholder, R. (2019). An International Analysis of Dialysis Services Reimbursement. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 14(1), 84-93. [More Information]
  • Yeoh, S., Eastwood, J., Wright, I., Morton, R., Melhuish, E., Ward, M., Oei, J. (2019). Cognitive and Motor Outcomes of Children With Prenatal Opioid Exposure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open, 2(7), 1-14. [More Information]

2018

  • Walker, R., Morton, R., Palmer, S., Marshall, M., Jaure, A., Howard, K. (2018). A Discrete Choice Study of Patient Preferences for Dialysis Modalities. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 13(1), 100-108. [More Information]
  • Watts, C., Wortley, S., Norris, S., Menzies, S., Guitera, P., Askie, L., Mann, G., Morton, R., Cust, A. (2018). A National Budget Impact Analysis of a Specialised Surveillance Programme for Individuals at Very High Risk of Melanoma in Australia. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 16(2), 235-242. [More Information]
  • Wilson, A., Vento, M., Shah, P., Saugstad, O., Finer, N., Rich, W., Morton, R., Rabi, Y., Tarnow-Mordi, W., Suzuki, K., Oei, J., et al (2018). A review of international clinical practice guidelines for the use of oxygen in the delivery room resuscitation of preterm infants. Acta Paediatrica, 107(1), 20-27. [More Information]

2017

  • Walker, R., Marshall, R., Howard, K., Morton, R., Marshall, M. (2017). "Who matters most?": Clinician perspectives of influence and recommendation on home dialysis uptake. Nephrology, 22(12), 977-984. [More Information]
  • Smit, A., Espinoza, D., Newson, A., Morton, R., Fenton, G., Freeman, L., Dunlop, K., Butow, P., Law, M., Kimlin, M., Kirk, J., Mann, G., Cust, A., et al (2017). A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Impact of Giving Information on Personalized Genomic Risk of Melanoma to the Public. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 26(2), 212-221. [More Information]
  • Luckett, T., Spencer, L., Morton, R., Pollock, C., Lam, L., Silvester, W., Sellars, M., Detering, K., Butow, P., Jaure, A., Clayton, J. (2017). Advance care planning in chronic kidney disease: A survey of current practice in Australia. Nephrology, 22(2), 139-149. [More Information]

2016

  • Morton, R., Webster, A., McGeechan, K., Howard, K., Murtagh, F., Gray, N., Kerr, P., Germain, M., Snelling, P. (2016). Conservative management and end of life care in an Australian cohort with ESRD. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 11(12), 2195-2203. [More Information]
  • Morton, R. (2016). Do dialysis decision aids improve treatment decision-making? Peritoneal Dialysis International, 36(4), 359-361. [More Information]
  • Madronio, C., Armstrong, B., Watts, C., Goumas, C., Morton, R., Curtin, A., Menzies, S., Mann, G., Thompson, J., Cust, A. (2016). Doctors' recognition and management of melanoma patients' risk: An Australian population-based study. Cancer Epidemiology, 45, 32-39. [More Information]

2015

  • Watts, C., Dieng, M., Morton, R., Mann, G., Menzies, S., Cust, A. (2015). Clinical practice guidelines for identification, screening and follow-up of individuals at high risk of primary cutaneous melanoma: a systematic review. British Journal of Dermatology, 172(1), 33-47. [More Information]
  • Wyld, M., Lee, C., Zhou, X., White, S., Shaw, J., Morton, R., Colagiuri, S., Chadban, S. (2015). Cost to Government and Society of Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 1-5, a National Cohort Study. Internal Medicine Journal, 45(7), 741-747. [More Information]
  • Davison, S., Levin, A., Moss, A., Jha, V., Brown, E., Brennan, F., Murtagh, F., Naicker, S., Germain, M., O'Donoughe, D., Morton, R., et al (2015). Executive summary of the KDIGO Controversies Conference on Supportive Care in Chronic Kidney Disease: developing a roadmap to improving quality care. Kidney International, 88(3), 447-459. [More Information]

2014

  • Saw, R., Armstrong, B., Mason, R., Morton, R., Shannon, K., Spillane, A., Stretch, J., Thompson, J. (2014). Adjuvant therapy with high dose vitamin D following primary treatment of melanoma at high risk of recurrence: a placebo controlled randomised phase II trial (ANZMTG 02.09 Mel-D). BMC Cancer, 14, 1-10. [More Information]
  • Foote, C., Morton, R., Jardine, M., Gallagher, M., Brown, M., Howard, K., Cass, A. (2014). Considerations of Nephrologists when SuggestIng Dialysis in Elderly patients with Renal failure (CONSIDER): a discrete choice experiment. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 29(12), 2302-2309. [More Information]
  • Morton, R. (2014). Essential inputs for studies of cost-effectiveness analysis in melanoma. British Journal of Dermatology, 171(6), 1294-1295. [More Information]

2013

  • Wyld, M., Clayton, P., Morton, R., Chadban, S. (2013). Anti-Coagulation, anti-platelets or no therapy in haemodialysis patients with atrial fibrillation: A decision analysis. Nephrology, 18(12), 783-789. [More Information]
  • Walker, R., Fassett, R., Morton, R. (2013). ANZSN renal supportive care guidelines 2013: Research Issues in elderly patients: gaps in knowledge and suggested directions. Nephrology, 18(6), 439-441. [More Information]
  • Merom, D., Cumming, R., Mathieu, E., Anstey, K., Rissel, C., Simpson, J., Morton, R., Cerin, E., Sherrington, C., Lord, S. (2013). Can social dancing prevent falls in older adults? a protocol of the Dance, Aging, Cognition, Economics (DAnCE) fall prevention randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-9. [More Information]

2012

  • Wyld, M., Morton, R., Hayen, A., Howard, K., Webster, A. (2012). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Utility-Based Quality of Life in Chronic Kidney Disease Treatments. PLoS Medicine, 9(9), 1-10. [More Information]
  • Morton, R., Snelling, P., Webster, A., Rose, J., Masterson, R., Johnson, D., Howard, K. (2012). Dialysis Modality Preference of Patients With CKD and Family Caregivers: A Discrete-Choice Study. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 60(1), 102-111. [More Information]
  • Morton, R., Snelling, P., Webster, A., Rose, J., Masterson, R., Johnson, D., Howard, K. (2012). Factors influencing patient choice of dialysis versus conservative care to treat end-stage kidney disease. CMAJ, 184(5), E277-E283. [More Information]

2011

  • Jaure, A., Morton, R., Howard, K., McTaggart, S., Craig, J. (2011). "When I had my transplant, I became normal." Adolescent perspectives on life after kidney transplantation. Pediatric Transplantation, 15(3), 285-293. [More Information]
  • Morton, R., Jaure, A., Webster, A., Snelling, P., Howard, K. (2011). Characteristics of dialysis important to patients and family caregivers: a mixed methods approach. Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation, 26(12), 4038-4046. [More Information]
  • Turner, R., Bell, K., Morton, R., Hayen, A., Francken, A., Howard, K., Armstrong, B., Thompson, J., Irwig, L. (2011). Optimizing the Frequency of Follow-Up Visits for Patients Treated for Localized Primary Cutaneous Melanoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29(35), 4641-4646. [More Information]

2010

  • Jaure, A., Morton, R., Howard, K., McTaggart, S., Craig, J. (2010). 'When I had my transplant, I became normal.' adolescent perspectives on life after kidney transplantation. Nephrology, 15(S4), 64-64.
  • Morton, R., Howard, K., Thompson, J. (2010). In Reply: Cost Effectiveness of Staging Procedures in Patients with Stage I/II Melanoma. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 17(2), 663-664. [More Information]
  • Morton, R., Howard, K., Webster, A., Snelling, P. (2010). Patient INformation about Options for Treatment (PINOT): a prospective national study of information given to incident CKD Stage 5 patients. Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation, doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfq555(unspecified), 1-9. [More Information]

2009

  • Morton, R., Moustakas, J., Howard, K., Webster, A., Snelling, P. (2009). A national audit of information provided to new chronic kidney disease stage 4 & 5 patients: results from a pilot study. Renal Society of Australasia Journal, 5(3), 138-146.
  • Jaure, A., Morton, R., Howard, K., Craig, J. (2009). Adolescent Experiences Following Organ Transplantation: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies. The Journal of Pediatrics, 155(4), 542-549. [More Information]
  • Thompson, J., Morton, R. (2009). In Reply: Cost-Effectiveness of Sentinel Node Biopsy for Melanoma. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 16(10), 2962-2963. [More Information]

2008

  • Morton, R., Howard, K., Thompson, J. (2008). The Cost-Effectiveness of Sentinel Node Biopsy in Patients with Intermediate Thickness Primary Cutaneous Melanoma. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 16(4), 929-940. [More Information]

2006

  • Uren, R., Howman-Giles, R., Chung, D., Morton, R., Thompson, J. (2006). The Reproducibility in Routine Clinical Practice of Sentinel Lymph Node Identification by Pre-operative Lymphoscintigraphy in Patients with Cutaneous Melanoma. Annals of Surgical Oncology, 14(2), 899-905. [More Information]

Selected Grants

2023

  • A novel regimen to treat the commonest form of drug resistant tuberculosis: the FLIRT Trial, Fox G, Marks G, Menzies R, Marais B, Nhung N, Behr M, Marschner I, Johnston J, Morton R, Nguyen T, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies

2022

  • Strengthening Healthcare Systems with Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), Morton R, Rutherford C, Mercieca-Bebber R, Martin A, King M, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)/Partnership Projects

Collaboration Group Publications

  • Smit, AK., Espinoza, D., Fenton, GL., Kirk, J., Innes, JS., McGovern, M., Limb, S., On Behalf Of The Managing Your Risk Study Group.,Turbitt, E., Cust, AE. (2022). Communicating Personal Melanoma Polygenic Risk Information: Participants’ Experiences of Genetic Counseling in a Community-Based Study. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 12(10), 1581. [More Information]

International grants:

Dunhill Medical Trust (UK). “Advance care planning with older patients who have end-stage kidney disease: Feasibility of a deferred entry randomised controlled trial incorporating a mixed methods process evaluation.” CIs O’Halloran P, Brazil K, Noble H, Fogarty D, Murtagh F, Brown J, Shields J, Morton RL.

European Centre for Disease Control, European Union (EU). “Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of screening migrants in Europe.” Pottie K, Vandvik P, Morton RL.

New Zealand Heart Foundation. “Canadian-Australasian Randomised trialof Screening Kidney transplant recipients for coronary artery disease (CARSK study).” Pilmore H, Chadban S, Cross N, Morton RL.

Other national grants:

Australian Government – Department of Health. National Palliative Care Projects.“Supporting provision of palliative care and advance care planning in general practice: a toolkit and training package targeting practice nurses.” Clayton J, Tieman J, Sylvester W, Halcomb E, Mitchell G, Phillips J, Shaw T, Morton RL.