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Wolfson Institute of Population Health

Professor Ruth Dobson

Ruth

Clinical Reader in Neurology

Email: ruth.dobson@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

I am a Consultant Neurologist with extensive experience in multiple sclerosis and related disorders. I currently lead a number of research projects including a multi-centre pharmacovigilance study in MS (OPTIMISE:MS), the UK MS Pregnancy Register, and a multi-ethnic genetics study in MS (ADAMS). I am interested in the role of modifiable factors such as Epstein Barr virus and vitamin D in the development of MS and its subsequent complications, and am using routinely acquired healthcare data to better understand this. I have been awarded research grants from MS Society, NMSS, BMA Foundation, MRC and NIHR.

I studied at Clare College Cambridge before graduating with distinction in clinical sciences from University College London. I completed her PhD in 2013, having received funding from the Guarantors of Brain and an MS Society/ABN Clinical Research fellowship for this work. I have been awarded numerous scholarships, and was an RCP Emerging Female Leader fellow in 2019.

I have a keen interest in equality and diversity, both within MS and the wider academic field. I lead national and international mentorship schemes, and am a non-executive board member of International Women in MS. I am deputy Academic Lead for EDI within QMUL Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and sit on the FMD Athena Swan committee. I have also provided input into EDI strategies for external organisations, such as the MS Society.

Outside of work I spend much of my time looking after my two daughters, and enjoy swimming and playing the cello when I get a chance.

Research

Supervision

  • Benjamin Jacobs – Genetic determinants of multiple sclerosis risk in diverse ancestral backgrounds (MRC)
  • Brook Huxford – Remote biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease (Wolfson)
  • Morghan Hartman – Using Bayesian methodology to understand complex disease (PanBayesian)
  • Heather Mah – Using social capital to understand PPI in MS (Horne Family Foundation)
  • Imogen Collier – Menopause and multiple sclerosis (to start Sept 2022)
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