Top scientist Kirsty Smitten who created a new class of antibiotics that could save millions of lives dies aged just 29. What she died of, her career and fortune explored.
Kirsty Smitten was a medical practitioner and a brilliant young scientist.
She developed a new class of life-saving antibiotics that could save millions of lives and avert medical catastrophe.
Due to her hard work in the health sector, she was honored by Forbes Magazine as the company named her to its prestigious 30 Under 30 list under science and healthcare.
The trailblazer in everything from women’s football to microbiology tragically passed away on October 4, 2023. Following that, many want to know more about her cause of death, what happened to her, and her net worth. Here’s what we know.
What was Kirsty Smitten’s cause of death?
Pioneering English scientist Kirsty Smitten reportedly died in the early hours of October 4.
She was just 29 years old at the time of her death.
Before her death, which is a loss great to humanity, 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.
She had been undergoing treatment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for seven weeks before her death. She was unable to work as she struggled to breathe or walk around her hospital bed.
Her family who are originally from Solihull was by her bedside during her final hours.
Her death comes months after her father, Kevin Smitten, 61, passed. He suffered a heart attack while playing football in Portugal, per MailOnline.
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 battled severe health condition
Away from her heart cancer, she battled with other rare health issues.
In the early months of 2023, MailOnline reported that Smitten woke up one night in November 2022 with agonizing chest pains.
It took three months of tests before she was finally diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma – a tumor in her heart.
This type of tumor will grow back and is likely to spread or burst, causing her heart to fail, Kirsty was in no doubt this was a death sentence but hoped to live long enough for a cure to be found.
Who was Kirsty Smitten?
Kirtsy Smitthen was a biochemist and microbiologist who had a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2020.
When not busy with research, she played hockey and football almost every day.
She was the co-founder / CEO of MetalloBio, a University of Sheffield spin-out company.
Her company had her named in Forbes magazine’s prestigious 30 Under 30 list for science and healthcare.
She 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.
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.
What was Kirsty Smitten’s net worth?
Kirsty Smitten’s exact net worth was never reported by any media despite her being famous for her science-related topics and her bid to help humanity with her research. However, she is estimated to be worth at least between $500,000 and $1 million.