Sally holds a PhD in Public Health from the International Health Unit, Imperial College London and an MSc in Infectious Diseases. Her research has explored health care provision for migrants arriving in the UK and Europe, in particular assessing the impact of recent UK Government policies on access to free NHS care and treatment for asylum seekers and refugees. She was made an Honorary Research Fellow of Imperial College London in 2007.

Prior to that, she worked as a freelance journalist and editor for the British Medical Journal and The Lancet. She spent five years with the international aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières as a medical writer and researcher focusing primarily on issues relating to refugee health and tuberculosis control. On assignment, Sally lived and worked in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Nigeria, and travelled extensively throughout Russia and Africa. Sally now works as a Senior Editor at The Lancet in London, and lives in London with her husband Tom and daughter Minnie.