Staff Profile
Sola Akinbolade
Research Associate in Horizon Scanning & Evidence Synthesis
- Email: sola.akinbolade@ncl.ac.uk
- Personal Website: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0464-6426
- Address: NIHR Innovation Observatory
The Catalyst
Room 3.12, 3 Science Square
Newcastle Helix
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 5TG
I am a Research Associate in Horizon Scanning & Evidence Synthesis, and I work in a team to design and implement literature searches of electronic medical, health and social science bibliographic databases, and clinical trial and research registries to identify, quantify, monitor and produce reports on new and evolving health technologies which target unmet clinical needs.
I am passionate about improving and supporting patients' access to innovative (new or repurposed) medicines to prevent, diagnose and treat disease conditions and address areas of unmet medical need. As a health researcher, I identify emerging health technologies to inform and support national stakeholders (such as NICE, DHSC, OLS, NHS England, MHRA, IRLSS) towards decision-making about these technologies. I conduct trend analysis and identify research gaps to provide valuable insights and shape future research.
I have a background in pharmacy; with experience working within community and hospital settings, as well as the pharmaceutical industry. I also had a brief stint at a clinical research organisation assisting the clinical research team in all aspects of patient recruitment, clinical trial activity and administration.
Previous projects
- COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) combination therapies.
- Drug repurposing for COVID-19 as an efficient approach to exploring new indications for several approved therapeutic agents towards the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Current projects/interests
- Medicines repurposing as a strategy to identify new uses for existing medicines outside their original licence.
- Rare disease treatments: insights and intelligence on emerging therapies
- Implementation science
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Articles
- Akinbolade S, Coughlan D, Fairbairn R, McConkey G, Powell H, Ogunbayo D, Craig D. Combination therapies for COVID-19: An overview of the clinical trials landscape. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2022, 88(4), 1590-1597.
- Akinbolade O, Husband A, Forrest S, Todd A. Deprescribing in advanced illness. Progress in Palliative Care 2016, 24(5), 268-271.
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Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
- Ogunbayo D, Coughlan D, Fairbairn R, Akinbolade S. Classification System for Innovative Medicines in the Pipeline: New or Repurposed?. In: HTAi 2022. 2022, Utrecht, The Netherlands: Cambridge University Press.