Tributes have been paid for a young scientist that studied at the University of Sheffield who tragically passed away aged just 29.
Kirsty Smitten, an accredited and award winning scientist, was diagnosed with a rare form of heart cancer in February 2023, after suffering with severe chest pain.
Miss Smitten was initially sent away by her GP following her first visit, and was advised to take medication for a pulled muscle.
She was later diagnosed with a cancer known as ‘cardiac angiosarcoma’, which is so rare that even her surgeon had not heard of it before.
Cardiac angiosarcoma is a tumour in the heart, and is estimated to only be diagnosed twice a year in the UK.
Miss Smitten sadly passed away on the 4th October, surrounded by her family, at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth hospital.
She studied at the University of Sheffield as an undergraduate in 2012, and later returned to complete a PhD, focusing on the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
Miss Smitten was the co-founder and Chief Executive of MetalloBio, a company which creates new antibiotics, incorporated in March 2021.
Her research was set to save millions of lives, and mainly centred around how antibiotics become unsuccessful in treating and preventing infections in people.
She has been described as a ‘world leading’ scientist for her research, and was named in Forbes magazine’s ‘30 under 30’ for science and healthcare.
In February 2023, she was also awarded the prize for FSB’s young entrepreneur of the year, and has been deemed a ‘trailblazer’ for her groundbreaking achievements.
Kirsty’s family have plans to set up a charity in her name to continue her legacy.
A charity football match is also being organised, in recognition of her time playing for AFC Norton Woodseats women’s team in Sheffield.
For support dealing with a loss of a loved one or a cancer diagnosis, Macmillan Cancer Care offer a range of online and in person support.