Pioneering scientist who created a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives dies aged just 29
- Kirsty Smitten had just months to live after being diagnosed with heart cancer
- She underwent treatment in hospital for seven weeks before her death on Oct 4
A brilliant young scientist who created a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives and avert medical catastrophe has died at the age of just 29.
Kirsty Smitten was given just months to live after being diagnosed with heart cancer, a terminal disease so rare it affects just two people a year in the UK, in February and lost her fight for life in the early hours of October 4.
She had been undergoing treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for seven weeks before her death. Her family was by her bedside during her final hours.
Her sister-in-law, Sukhi Smitten, wife of her older brother, Matt, said: ‘Kirsty fought to the very end but this was such an aggressive cancer she couldn’t beat it.
‘She kept saying how much she had to live for – her brother, Dan, is getting married in November and Matt and I are expecting a baby in February. She would have been the most wonderful auntie. We’re all heartbroken.’
Kirsty Smitten (pictured in 2018) was given just months to live after being diagnosed with heart cancer , a terminal disease so rare it affects just two people a year in the UK, in February and lost her fight for life in the early hours of October 4
With her team at Metallo Bio, Ms Smitten (pictured) developed two antibiotic compounds to treat bacterial infections, including strands of pneumonia and meningitis that have become resistant to the drugs usually used to treat them, as well as infections that develop in wounds and after surgery.
Ms Smitten’s family is keen that her legacy, both in bringing the new class of antibiotics to the public and raising awareness about cardiac angiosarcoma continues after her death. Pictured: Kirsty Smitten
The family, from Solihull, was still reeling from the sudden death of Ms Smitten’s seemingly healthy father, Kevin, 61, who suffered a heart attack while playing football in Portugal, last October, when they began fearing for her health.
Ms Smitten, who had played hockey and football every day, woke in the night with agonising chest pains last November, The Mail On Sunday reported earlier this year.
It took three months of tests before she was finally diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma – a tumour in her heart.
This type of tumour will grow back and is likely to spread or burst, causing her heart to fail, and Kirsty was in no doubt this was a death sentence but hoped to live long enough for a cure to be found.
Throughout the early months, the biochemist, who had a PhD in Chemistry and in 2020 was named in Forbes magazine’s prestigious 30 Under 30 list for science and healthcare, continued to lead the fight against anti-microbial resistance – what the World Health Organisation calls one of the biggest threats to global health – which has seen bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites evolve over time and no longer respond to medicines.
With her team at Metallo Bio, a company she set up with the support of her doctorate supervisor at Sheffield University, Ms Smitten developed two antibiotic compounds to treat bacterial infections, including strands of pneumonia and meningitis that have become resistant to the drugs usually used to treat them, as well as infections that develop in wounds and after surgery.
However, in recent weeks, she was unable to work as she struggled to breathe or walk around her hospital bed.
Her family is keen that her legacy, both in bringing the new class of antibiotics to the public and raising awareness about cardiac angiosarcoma – she posted regularly on Tiktok and Instagram and supported other sufferers online – continues after her death.
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