Chief executive of Peterborough-based  Kidney Research UK receives OBE in New Year's Honours List

The boss of a Peterborough medical charity has been awarded an OBE in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.

Sandra Currie has been chief executive of Kidney Research UK, headquartered in City Road, for 12 years during which she has overseen significant growth in the charity’s activities and research funding.

She has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her ‘Services to People Affected by Kidney Disease’.

There are currently 18,000 people in Peterborough among 7.2 million people in the UK, who are living with kidney disease – with that number expected to rise.

Over the last 10 years, more than £71 million has been invested in research while work has also taken place to raise awareness of the disease and champion the needs of kidney patients in front of government, NHS, policy makers and industry.

Sandra said: “This award recognises the significance of kidney disease, but also the commitment of the charity and our partners in responding to the challenge.

"We are one great team of people who work and volunteer for the charity, I am completely honoured to have been nominated and to be receiving this recognition for what we have achieved together.

She said: “For patients, their families and anyone working in the field, the devastation that kidney disease causes to people’s lives is well known.

"Yet, despite it affecting around 10 percent of the UK population, there is still a long way to go to make recognising, preventing and treating kidney disease a real priority.

“Today, as I’m taking in the honour of being recognised in this way, around 22 people in the UK will start their year needing ongoing treatment because their kidneys have failed, and there will be another 22 each day throughout 2025. “This disease affects every part of someone’s life and we cannot stop or slow down our work to tackle it.

Sandra added: “My strength in this role, leading Kidney Research UK, comes entirely from the people who share their lives with me. “Everyone who has told me of the devastation kidney disease has brought to them and their families, every researcher who has shared their passion and innovation as they search for answers to end kidney disease, and everyone who supports and funds our work from all corners of the UK.

“They remind me daily of the great need for our work and keep me focused on the urgency for the charity to do more.”