An “exceptional” young scientist who studied in the Department of Chemistry before co-founding a spinout company developing a new class of antibiotics, has died of a rare form of heart cancer aged just 29.
Kirsty Smitten, who arrived in Sheffield as an undergraduate student in 2012, and went on to complete a PhD working on the challenge of antimicrobial resistance under the supervision of Professor Jim Thomas, passed away on Wednesday, 4 October.
Kirsty was well known in the Department and her thesis led to a series of high impact papers and the filing of a patent.
Due to the success of her PhD, during lockdown Kirsty took part in the Innovate UK funded ICURe commercial accelerator program that helped her refine and validate the commercial potential of her work, and led to her taking up the position of CEO of spinout company, MetalloBio Ltd, which she jointly founded with Prof Thomas.
Her groundbreaking work helped MetalloBio create new antimicrobial compounds that could potentially be the first to enter the clinic for nearly 40 years and would be used to treat bacterial infections that have become resistant to currently used drugs. In her role as CEO she also brought in more than £2m of non-dilutive funds into the company.
Kirsty won multiple awards, both personally and for the company, including a Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 award for Science and Healthcare, a Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship, an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award, and The UK Federation of Small Businesses Entrepreneur of the Year 2023.
Prof Thomas said: “Kirsty was an exceptional individual. Apart from her academic and burgeoning commercial successes she was a keen and competitive sportswoman. She represented the university at Hockey and went on to play for a number of local hockey and football teams in South Yorkshire, including AFC Norton Woodseats Ladies, which she helped to launch.
“On top of this, she showed an active commitment to civil society contributing to and even setting up local charities and community organisations, including fundraising and volunteering at a Sheffield-based foodbank.
“When diagnosed with an exceptionally rare and aggressive cancer, she went on to document her life on social media and use this as a lever for fundraising activities. She even set up an online support group for cardiac angio-sarcoma to help others across the world and was nominated to become a SarcomaUK, Young Sarcoma Voice of the Year.
“Kirsty was the most extraordinary person I have met in my career.”
Kirsty's family want to continue her work and are looking to setup a charity in her name. Donations can be made online.
A charity football match is also being organised in Kirsty’s memory.