Kirsty Smitten was known for her effort to help save lives but many admirers want to know if she was married with children.
Kirsty Smitten, 29, who has been included on the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Europe’s science and healthcare category, died on October 4, 2023.
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.
Following her tragic passing, many want to know more about her personal life, who her husband or boyfriend is, and if she had any kids. Read on for more.
Who was Kirsty Smitten dating or married to?
While Kirsty Smitten’s academic research which included creating new antibiotics from metal-based therapeutic compounds derived from the element ruthenium was much known worldwide, no details about her personal life have been disclosed.
At the moment, she was believed to be single – meaning she was not married and hence had no husband and wasn’t in a relationship and hence had no boyfriend or partner.
She remained tight-lipped about her love life.
Did Kirsty Smitten have any children?
Sheffield scientist Kirsty Smitten was not known to be a mother – at least not publicly.
Also, since she was well-known in the health sector and made media headlines, no details about her having a son or daughter were ever reported.
While she had no children/kids, she was nearly an aunty before she died.
Her sister-in-law, Sukhi Smitten, wife of her older brother, Matt, said they are expecting a baby in February. ‘She would have been the most wonderful auntie. We’re all heartbroken.’
Who was Kirsty Smitten?
Kirsty Smitten 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.
How did Kirsty Smitten die?
Scientist Kirsty Smitten reportedly died in the early hours of October 4. She was just 29 years old at the time of her death.
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, per TheStar.
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.
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.