Consultant neurologist David Rog has become a professor at the University of Salford, recognising his expertise in the care of people living with multiple sclerosis (PLwMS) and his major contributions to research and education.
Professor Rog trained in neurology in Liverpool, Preston and Manchester and in 2007, he was appointed as a consultant neurologist with an interest in MS at Salford Royal, where he leads a team assessing and following up more than 3,000 PLwMS receiving disease modifying treatment.
Professor Rog is one of the Chief Clinical Information Officers (CCIOs) at the NCA and completed a postgraduate diploma in digital health leadership at Imperial College in August 2025.
Supporting patients
Last year he also helped launch the Greater Manchester Multiple Sclerosis Information Network (GMMSIN) funded by the MS Society, with colleagues at Salford Royal and the University of Salford, a pioneering local digital network to support people newly diagnosed with MS. A linked research study will evaluate the programme, which includes a website and closed Facebook group moderated by clinical colleagues and people living with MS.
He was one of the authors of the second edition of Multiple Sclerosis at your Fingertips, a detailed patient guide which was shortlisted for the 2010 BMA Book Awards. He has also lectured widely and helped develop teaching tools for healthcare professionals working with PLwMS. Prof Rog was awarded the Outstanding MS Physician Prize at the MS Trust QuDoS Awards in recognition of his contribution to the Transforming MS for All national initiative to improve services for PLwMS.
Professor Rog is a principal investigator on MS clinical trials, the national coordinator of several disease modifying treatment pregnancy registries and collaborates with the UK MS Register, Optimise and TONiC research groups. He has also published research in the areas of cannabinoids and neuropathic pain and his research work using Sativex to treat nerve pain in MS gained him the US Consortium of MS Centres’ Whitaker Track young investigator award.
He said: ‘I’m privileged to work with so many clinical and research colleagues at NCA and nationally who are motivated to improve services for people living with MS (PLwMS), including Prof Alison Brettle and her colleagues at University of Salford, who specialise in evaluating patient-facing digital initiatives. Early analysis of GMMSIN suggests it may become a key component of routine care, enabling us to reach more PLwMS, more frequently, with quality information and for PLwMS themselves to provide invaluable peer to peer support.”