Matt Rutter, a final year BSc (Hons) Clinical Physiology student at the Faculty of Health and Social Care has won the National Young Healthcare Scientist award after being nominated by colleagues and patients at the Addenbrooke's lung function unit.

Matt has battled back from leukaemia himself and now works the same unit where he was once a patient. Matt says:

Matt was diagnosed with leukaemia aged 15. Coming down with a cold during February half term, he struggled to shake it off and once back at school he started to get very tired.

After visiting the GP, Matt was referred for tests which revealed acute leukaemia, a cancer of the bone marrow which produces the body's blood cells.

After completing his GCSEs, Matt went on to study for his A levels. Keen to study for a degree, he applied for a place at Anglia Ruskin University and decided he wanted to pursue a career in the health service.

A regular visitor to Addenbrooke's lung function unit, Matt's dream was to work there as a physiologist and following a week's work experience he was offered a job.

As a clinical respiratory physiologist, Matt works with patients suffering from a wide range of conditions, all of which have an impact on their lung function. Carrying out a variety of tests, to measure lung capacity, for example, the work he does helps doctors diagnose and prescribe the right course of treatment.

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