Professor Lindsay Bearne from the School of Health and Medical Sciences has been awarded a prestigious five-year Research Professorship from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Published
She is one of six outstanding leaders to be awarded the £2 million Professorship, which aims to address critical health priorities and deliver benefits for patients and communities. She is the first allied health professional to receive one for over ten years and the second physiotherapist.
Advancing rehabilitation for peripheral artery disease
Professor Bearne’s research will focus on developing equitable and personalised community rehabilitation interventions for people with peripheral artery disease (PAD).
PAD is a condition where there is poor blood flow in the legs due to narrowed arteries and affects over 237 million adults globally. One common symptom of the condition is walking leg pain, which is also known as intermittent claudication, and in its most severe manifestation it can lead to continuous pain, tissue loss and gangrene.
Over half of those with symptomatic PAD will die, have an amputation or cardiovascular event within five years of diagnosis. The economic burden of PAD is also substantial and rising.
Aligning with government priorities
Professor Lindsay Bearne said:
"I am delighted to be awarded this five-year NIHR Research Professorship. It provides a fantastic opportunity to dedicate time to tackle the difficult challenge of developing rehabilitation interventions and services for people with peripheral artery disease in primary care and community services."
Out-of-hospital rehabilitation improves people’s health and wellbeing, but it is not provided equally, and it is not known how to best rehabilitate people with PAD in the community.
Professor Bearne will lead research that will directly address this unmet need and co-design personalised rehabilitation for individuals living with PAD disease, their carers and healthcare staff. The new co-designed rehabilitation interventions will be evaluated to understand acceptability, effectiveness and cost effectiveness. Implementation strategies will also be co-designed so new interventions can be adopted by these services.
Professor Bearne added:
Strategic investment in health research
The NIHR Research Professorships award supports the nation’s top researchers to deliver ambitious, translational research that improves patient and service user outcomes, enhances efficiencies in the health and social care system and supports economic growth.
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR, said: