National award for patient turned physiologist

Matt Rutter

A decade since receiving life-saving treatment at Addenbrooke’s, physiologist Matt Rutter has won a prestigious national healthcare award.

Matt was inspired to pursue a career in the NHS during his teens. Having had a bone marrow transplant to treat leukaemia he received further care at Addenbrooke’s for a subsequent lung condition. Now aged 25, he works at Addenbrooke’s as a Clinical Respiratory Physiologist in the lung function unit, the same unit where he was treated.

At a ceremony in London this week, Matt was named Young Healthcare Scientist 2008 – a testament to his excellent work over the past six years.

Professor David Lomas, Professor of Respiratory Biology at Addenbrooke’s, said: "He is quite an outstanding individual who is a role model for what can be achieved by hard work, dedication and a passion for a service to which he is truly committed.

"I first met Matt 10 years ago when he was 16. He had acute leukaemia for which he had undergone bone marrow transplantation and approximately a year later he developed a lung disease.  Fortunately his condition stabilised but his interaction with the lung function team led to a desire to follow a career in physiological measurement."

Matt, with the support of Addenbrooke’s, studies for a BSc in Clinical Physiology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. In the long-term, he hopes to undertake a PhD to continue his career progression.

Matt, originally from Halesworth in Suffolk, currently lives in staff accommodation at Addenbrooke’s.

He said: "There was a point when it was looking like my illness was going to prove fatal but I managed to battle back. I enjoy my job and am overwhelmed by this award – I really wasn’t expecting to win. I have to say a big thank you to all my colleagues, friends and family who have helped me over the years."

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