Kirsty Smitten, the pioneering scientist who developed a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives, has died aged just 29
- Kirsty Smitten was diagnosed with heart cancer and given only months to live.
- She was treated in the hospital for seven weeks before passing away on October 4th.
A brilliant young scientist who developed a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives and avert a medical catastrophe has died aged just 29.
Kirsty Smitten was diagnosed with heart cancer in February and given only months to live. The terminal disease is so rare that it only affects two people a year in the UK, and he lost his fight for life in the early hours of October 4th.
She had been receiving treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital for seven weeks before her death. Her family was at her bedside during her final hours.
Sookie Smitten, brother Matt’s wife and sister-in-law, said: “Kirsty fought until the end but the cancer was so aggressive that she couldn’t beat it.”
“She kept saying how much longer she had to live. Her brother Dan is getting married in November, and Matt and I are expecting a baby in February.” She was the most wonderful aunt. It would have been. We are all heartbroken. ”
Kirsty Smitten (pictured in 2018) was diagnosed with heart cancer in February and was given only months to live. Heart cancer is an extremely rare terminal disease that only affects two people a year in the UK, and he lost his fight for life in the early hours of October. Four
Ms Smitten (pictured) is working with her team at Metallo Bio to treat a range of bacteria that are resistant to the drugs normally used to treat them, such as pneumonia and meningitis, as well as wounds and subsequent infections. We have developed two antibiotic compounds to treat infections.surgery
The family, from Solihull, are still reeling from the sudden death of Mr Smitten’s father Kevin, 61, who appeared to be in good health after suffering a heart attack while playing football in Portugal in October last year. , That’s when I started worrying about her health.
Mr Smitten, who played hockey and football every day, woke up in the night with chest pains in November last year, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported earlier this year.
It took three months of tests before she was finally diagnosed with cardiovascular angiosarcoma, a heart tumor.
This type of tumor is likely to grow back, spread or rupture and cause a heart attack, and Kirsty had no doubt this was a death sentence until a treatment was found. I wanted to live a long life.
Throughout the first few months, the biochemist, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and was named to Forbes magazine’s prestigious Science and Healthcare 30 Under 30 list in 2020, was recognized by the World Health Organization as an anti-inflammatory. He continued to lead the fight against what he called microbial drug resistance. The biggest threat to global health is that bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites have evolved over time to no longer respond to drugs.
Smitten is working with a team at MetalloBio, a company he founded with the support of his PhD supervisor at the University of Sheffield, to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia and meningitis that have become resistant to commonly used drugs. developed two types of antibiotic compounds for treatment. We treat not only wounds and infections that occur after surgery.
Ms Smitten’s family is passionate about ensuring that her legacy of bringing new classes of antibiotics to the public and raising awareness about cardiovascular angiosarcoma continues after her death.
But in recent weeks, she has had trouble breathing and walking around her hospital bed, making it impossible for her to work.
Her family credits her work in bringing new types of antibiotics to the public and raising awareness about cardiovascular angiosarcoma (she posted regularly on Tiktok and Instagram, and supported other patients online). He is passionate about carrying on the legacy even after her death.
