Live Webinar: Unseen, But Not Unfelt: MS Symptom Management and the Role of Nurses

Tommaso Manacorda is a researcher and health policy expert, currently Head of Social Research, Policy, and Evidence at AISM (Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society). Since more than 20 years his work focuses on translating patients’ priorities into effective health policy planning, with a particular emphasis on multiple sclerosis. 

Tommaso holds a Master of Science degree in Health Policy Planning and Financing and he carried out research in academic setting for several years as a Research Fellow at the Department of Health Services Research and Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Tommaso has contributed to several studies on service integration, patient experience, and the evaluation of care models, helping bridge the gap between evidence and policy.

Miguel Ángel Robles Sánchez is an advanced clinical nurse specialising in multiple sclerosis and the Nursing Coordinator at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia (Cemcat), Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. He is also a member of the Multidisciplinary and Nursing Research Group at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). His doctoral work focuses on implementing health education interventions that address the needs of people with MS.

In 2015, he received the European Nursing Fellowship from the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and carried out an international stage at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK. It was linked to his doctoral thesis "Comprehensive approach to needs and demands of people with multiple sclerosis”, where he became familiar with shared decision-making among other nursing interventions and programs. Subsequently, in collaboration with the Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries (AQUAS), the University of Girona and the Fundació Esclerosi Múltiple (FEM), he led the development of contents and decision aid tools for the Shared-Decisions Project in multiple sclerosis, available in the Health Channel of the Department of Health of Catalonia.

He performed a nursing research fellowship in the frameworks of the Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation in Health 2016-2020 (PERIS – Health Department, Government of Catalonia). Linked to this fellowship he lead a multi-center study entitled "Territorial Implementation of the Expert Patient Program of Catalonia in Multiple Sclerosis" established in 7 territorial multiple sclerosis centres. This project had also received a grant from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Barcelona (COIB).

Hjördís Ýrr Skúladóttir, PwMS, is, above all, a family-oriented person. She is married and has three almost grown-up children with whom she still loves spending time and creating memories. She currently works part-time at the Centre of Police Training and Professional Development in Iceland. Previously, she worked as a teacher and technology leader in primary schools.

Since her MS diagnosis in 2015, her life has changed—but not entirely in a negative way. For two years, she and her family embarked on an amazing adventure, travelling across Europe in a camper van. After returning home, she decided to reduce her working hours and focus more on her health and on living well with MS.

She served as President of the Icelandic MS Society for four years and was also a board member of the national disability association. Today, she focuses on her abilities and enjoys golfing, exercising, working, sailing (including with other people with MS through OOHC), and spending time with friends and family.