A North East professor has been honoured with a major international award for his work in respiratory medicine.
Professor Ioannis Vogiatzis, a clinical exercise physiologist and professor of rehabilitation sciences at Northumbria University, received the 2025 European Respiratory Society (ERS) Teaching Award at the society’s annual congress in Amsterdam.
The award recognises more than 25 years of educational contributions to the ERS.
Professor Vogiatzis said: "I am deeply honoured to receive this award recognising my scientific contributions and long-standing engagement with the society.
"As the new director of ERS educational programmes, I look forward to advancing the society’s focus on primary prevention by integrating my expertise in physical activity promotion, early diagnosis, and pulmonary rehabilitation to help prevent the progression of respiratory disease."
He has also been appointed director of ERS educational programmes by the ERS education council and will now lead the strategic direction of the society’s live educational programmes, activities, and faculty development over the next three years.
The European Respiratory Society is the largest of its kind, with more than 35,000 members in 170 countries.
Professor Vogiatzis is a global authority in pulmonary rehabilitation and clinical exercise physiology, with a career spanning more than 30 years.
He has contributed to international guidelines and policies through roles with the ERS, the American Thoracic Society, the British Thoracic Society, and the World Health Organization.
He currently represents the ERS on the WHO World Rehabilitation Alliance and is an honorary research fellow at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Professor Vogiatzis is also involved in major research consortia including Mobilise-D, PHOSP-COVID, and the NIHR PERFORM trial.
His research focuses on exercise tolerance in respiratory disease, long COVID, and multimorbidity, and directly supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals by promoting health, wellbeing, and inclusive access to rehabilitation.
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Dr Claire Bruce-Martin, head of Northumbria’s School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, said: "We are incredibly fortunate and proud to have Ioannis as part of our academic community.
"This latest recognition further acknowledges the depth and breadth of his achievements alongside his enduring contribution to health science, policy, and global rehabilitation standards.
"Ioannis is a terrific colleague to work alongside – thoroughly supportive, generous with his time and always happy to be fully involved in all we are collectively striving for within the school."
