Congratulations to the University of Leicester’s Professor Sally Singh, who has been recognised with the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Lifetime Achievement Award in Allied Respiratory Professionals.
Professor Sally Singh is Head of Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and Director of the Centre for Exercise and Rehabilitation Science, which brings together researchers working across exercise and rehabilitation research. She is also Director of Training and Capacity Development at NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Leicester.
Her work has focused on developing and testing rehabilitation interventions for people living with respiratory and cardiac conditions, including tuberculosis. She has also led an NIHR Global Research Group exploring culturally appropriate rehabilitation in low and middle-income countries and is currently leading an NIHR Programme Grant exploring rehabilitation for people living with multiple health conditions.
Sally has made significant contributions to the development, evaluation and implementation of pulmonary rehabilitation nationally and internationally. She has recently completed two terms as clinical lead for pulmonary rehabilitation as part of the National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme and was the inaugural lead clinician for the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service Accreditation Scheme run by the Royal College of Physicians. She also co-chaired the British Thoracic Society statement on pulmonary rehabilitation. She has led and contributed to a number of national and international guidance on pulmonary rehabilitation and is recognised as a world leader in the field.
The award recognises Sally’s contribution to the respiratory field and her work in advancing rehabilitation research, practice and education. She regularly contributes to ERS pulmonary rehabilitation and clinical exercise testing courses and has contributed to a number of ERS Monographs.
Professor Singh said: “I am delighted to receive the award, and to be recognised by colleagues for the contribution to the field, as always it is a team effort to complete the research that we hope will have a real impact on people living with chronic lung disease.”
The award was presented at the ERS Congress 2026 in Barcelona, in September 2026. The conference also provided an opportunity to showcase the breadth of respiratory research taking place across Leicester, with NIHR BRC Leicester members presenting their work and sharing research through e-posters.
Presentations were delivered by Lin Wang, George Mills and Dr Erol Gaillard, while Iridu Basnayake, Dr Tom Ward, Professor Louise Wain, Dr Richard Allen, Dr James Manifield, Dr Neil Greening, Dr Jonathan Broomfield and Dr Anna Meffen presented e-posters.