Date of birth

8 May 1959

Place of birth

Pakruojis District, Lithuania

Education

1993

Doctor of Medicine

1983

Medical doctor, therapeutic medicine, Kaunas Medical Institute (currently Lithuanian University of Health Sciences)

1977

Kaunas Secondary School No 5 (currently Vinco Kudirkos Progimnazija (Lower Secondary School), graduation with a gold medal

Work experience

2009–2022

Director, Centre for Communicable Diseases and AIDS 

2002–2017

Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Policy (currently Faculty of Human and Social Studies), Mykolas Romeris University

2000–2001

Lecturer, Kaunas Medical University 

1999–2000

Associate Professor, Vilnius Pedagogical University

1994–1995

Lecturer, Vilnius University Clinic of Infectious Diseases 

1989–2009

Director, Lithuanian AIDS Centre

1986–1989

PhD student, Dmitry Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Russia

1983–1986

Lecturer, Kaunas Medical University

Political career

Since 2024 

Member, Lithuanian Social Democratic Party 

2023–2024

Member, Municipal Council of Vilnius City 

Deputy Chair, Health and Sports Committee 

Chair, Vilnius City Public Health Council

Member, Drug Control Commission

Member, Human Rights Commission

Miscellaneous

Founder, modern public healthcare system; co-author, Lithuanian Health Programme; expert, management of communicable diseases; founder, first virology laboratory in Lithuania; establisher, framework for prevention of human immunodeficiency virus infection in Lithuania; co-founder and Vice-President, Lithuanian Society for Immunology; Member, UN agencies’ expert groups (WHO, UN AIDS Programme, UNICEF, etc.); member, expert groups of Northern Dimension Partnership, European Commission, and other organisations; member, traineeships in management of infectious and other diseases in American, European and Asian research and healthcare institutions.

Author and co-author of books and publications, including Aids: You Should Better Know; Development of Immunology in Lithuania; SocialWork; editor of several dozen methodology publications on health and disease prevention; former member, editorial boards of the scientific journals including Health Sciences, Public Health, Infectology, and Eurosurveillance; initiator and organiser, quizzes, debates, seminars and other educational events for pupils, professionals and the general public on communicable diseases and related topics.

Past teaching experience in higher education institutions on subjects including microbiology, diagnostics of communicable diseases, social health factors, and working with risk groups; author of hundreds of research and popular science articles, reports, and speech abstracts; interlocutor and expert for mass media.

Pioneer, drug prevention in Lithuania; founder, the first psychosocial rehabilitation programme for drug addicts in Lithuania; initiator, harm reduction and low threshold services; former member, Governmental Drug Control Commission; member, Advisory Board, European Cities Against Drugs.

Public activities:

Cooperation with the public, communities, societies of medical professionals, and the media; work at the National Health Council and working groups, provision of non-staff expert advice to the Committee on Health Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and international and other organisations; nomination as the most influential infection management expert in Lithuania during the COVID-19 pandemic; author of insights and good practice reports on communicable disease management and public health; recipient of letters of gratitude from international and other organisations and institutions, Prime Ministers and ministers of Lithuania for consistent efforts in mobilising social partners, improving the qualifications of medical staff in Lithuania, promoting international cooperation, and making a significant contribution to the development of healthcare.

Foreign languages: English (skilled), Russian (skilled), Latin.