Meet the speakers

Dr. Agne Straukiene is a trailblazing neurologist with a passion for improving the lives of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system. Her commitment to patient-centred care and service improvement has earned her a reputation as a leading consultant neurologist in the UK.

After completing her specialist training in Neurology in Lithuania in 2013, Dr. Straukiene honed her expertise working as a clinical and research fellow in general neurology and MS under the guidance of Professors Jeremy Hobart and John Zajicek at Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust. In 2016, she was appointed as a consultant neurologist at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, where she leads the MS service with innovative, patient-focused approaches.

Dr. Straukiene has developed numerous pioneering tools to support day-to-day MS management, including the MS Infoflex management tool, MS Patient Knows Best platform, Connect plus app, real-time automated alert system for abnormal blood tests in multiple sclerosis patients, and a mechanism for monthly graphical representation of clinical reports.

A champion for advancing MS research and care, Dr. Straukiene is an esteemed Chief and Principal Investigator for various commercial and non-commercial clinical studies at Torbay and Southern Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. In 2022, she was awarded the International MS Brain Health Team award for her pioneering work setting up healthy lifestyle MS group clinics.

Dr. Straukiene's dedication to improving the lives of those with MS extends beyond her clinical practice. She is also the founder and host of the #BeewellwithMS healthcare podcast, where she shares her expertise and insights to empower and educate patients and healthcare professionals alike. 

Dr Jeremy Hobart is a Consultant Neurologist at Derriford Hospital, and Professor at the Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. His clinical sub-specialist interest is the diagnosis and management of people with multiple sclerosis. His medical training was at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and neurology training was undertaken predominantly at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square. He is also President of the South Devon branch of the MS Society.

Jeremy Hobart’s research interest is rating scales for measuring health outcomes. His training in health measurement and rating scale science has included a PhD in Psychometrics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Prof Donna Lamping), and post doctoral attachments to the University of Chicago (Prof Ben Wright) and, more recently, a secondment to Murdoch University Perth, Western Australia (Prof David Andrich) sponsored by a Royal Society of Medicine Ellison-Cliffe Travelling Fellowship.

By a combination of chance and design, this training means that Jeremy is one of only a handful of clinicians formally trained in rating scale science. He has led the development of a number of rating scales, has published widely in this area, and holds over £7 million in research grants.