Northumbria Professor receives prestigious European Respiratory Society Teaching Award

A Northumbria University Professor has been recognised with one of the respiratory medicine world's most prestigious honours and appointed to a senior leadership role.

Professor Ioannis Vogiatzis, from the University's School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, received the 2025 European Respiratory Society (ERS) Teaching Award at the organisation's Annual Congress in Amsterdam.

The award recognises his outstanding contributions to ERS educational activities and projects over more than 25 years of active engagement with the Society.

Professor Vogiatzis has also been appointed by the ERS Education Council as Director of ERS Educational Programmes. Over the next three years, he will lead the strategic direction of the Society's live educational programmes, activities, and faculty development.

Speaking about the recognition, 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.”

The European Respiratory Society is the largest society of its kind, with more than 35,000 members across 170 countries. Each year, it presents a series of prestigious awards to honour exceptional members whose achievements demonstrate scientific excellence, leadership, and commitment to the Society.

Professor Vogiatzis is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences at Northumbria University. He is a Fellow of the European Respiratory Society and former Head of ERS Assembly 1 (Respiratory, Clinical Care and Physiology), the Society's largest Assembly with more than 10,000 members.

His career spans over 30 years advancing the fields of pulmonary rehabilitation and clinical exercise physiology. He is a recognised global authority in his discipline, making significant contributions to the development of international guidelines and policies through his roles with the ERS, the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the British Thoracic Society (BTS) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Professor Vogiatzis currently represents the ERS on the WHO World Rehabilitation Alliance and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He also plays a leading role in high-impact research consortia, including the Mobilise-D consortium, PHOSP-COVID, and the NIHR PERFORM trial.

His research continues to shape clinical and scientific understanding of exercise tolerance in respiratory disease, long COVID, and multimorbidity. With over 250 publications and more than 30,000 citations, his work directly supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals by promoting health, wellbeing, and inclusive access to rehabilitation.

Professor Vogiatzis's academic excellence includes his current service on the NICE expert advisory panel for managing the long-term effects of COVID-19.

The double recognition follows Professor Vogiatzis's recent promotion to Level 3 Professor at Northumbria University, acknowledging his exceptional academic leadership, research excellence, and global impact.

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."

Find out more about courses available with Northumbria University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation.