Biomedical Scientist Cherie Beckett has won the Amazing Individual Award from the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust.

This week, the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust held their annual Amazing People Awards to recognise staff members who deserve recognition for the amazing work they do. Hundreds of staff members were nominated for these awards.

Cherie is a biomedical scientist in the microbiology department at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. Biomedical scientists like Cherie diagnose disease and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments through the analysis of fluids and tissue samples, handling over 150 million samples every year. In the UK alone, biomedical scientists are involved in over 70% of diagnoses in the NHS.

Cherie was nominated for her work to raise the profile of biomedical sciences by working with the Institute of Biomedical Science to create #IBMSChat, a monthly Twitter chat which reaches thousands of scientists online. Cherie also works with the children’s charity Harvey’s Gang to help young people understand what happens when their sample reaches the laboratory.

Dr Shico Visuvanathan, the Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, commented: “I was delighted and not at all surprised that Cherie was awarded the Amazing Individual award for our Health group at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. Cherie is a biomedical scientist of exceptional dedication who has worked many late evenings and weekends on her own accord to tie up all matters relating to any task she has been asked to do. I know she will continue to raise the profile of BMS staff across the hospital setting and indeed the NHS. As Head of department and Director of Infection Prevention and Control at my Trust, I know I can rely on her help at all times. I wish Cherie every success and know she will reach great heights in her chosen field.”

Cherie said, “It was only when he began introducing the 'biography' for the winner that began, "the winner of this award started working for the Trust in November 2010 as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in Microbiology", that it clicked. I felt the eyes of my colleagues around me look towards me and all I could think to myself was "don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!"

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