Healthcare heroes' experiment in raising profile of science

Excelling at school, she secured a place on a chemistry degree in her native United Arab Emirates and, after graduating, embarked on a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Nuthar was determined to succeed in her chosen field, but life has a funny habit of upsetting even the best-laid plans. While on a visit to Britain, she met her future husband and her plans took an unexpected twist.

Later marrying and moving to Leeds, she settled down to family life and after giving birth to two children, Nuthar was more than content to be a stay-at-home mum. However, the Jassams' peaceful life was soon shattered.

When Nuthar's husband developed a chronic heart condition and was no longer able to work, the couple's roles were reversed. Needing to find paid employment, Nuthar looked around for a position suited to her previous experience.

Completing a diploma in laboratory sciences, she started work as a trainee clinical biochemist at Leeds General Infirmary, juggling the needs of her family alongside her career.

"It was a time of enormous pressure," says Nuthar, who is one of the faces of a new campaign to champion those who work behind the scenes of the medical profession. "In between caring for my husband, my children and studying, I rarely got more than five hours sleep a night."

Sadly, her husband's condition deteriorated and he died after lying critically ill in intensive care waiting for a transplant. Her new career may have begun in tragic circumstances, but eight years on she hopes her late husband would be proud of what she

has achieved.

Recently, Nuthar made an important breakthrough in the diagnosis of a rare metabolic disease and, along with the 99 other professionals featured in a new Department of Health publication, she hopes to dispel the myths surrounding those who spend their days wearing white lab coats.

"Test results are often complex and my job is to interpret their meaning," she says. "People think scientists are locked up in laboratories, but I attend ward rounds and spend a lot of time talking to doctors and patients which I really enjoy. I'm a detective. I look for patterns and link them to information about symptoms from doctors to arrive at a diagnosis.

"It gave me a great sense of satisfaction recently when I was able to diagnose a very rare metabolic disease in a patient who had been displaying puzzling symptoms. It saved them from having to undergo much more invasive tests and even more satisfying was remembering two other patients we had seen previously with similar problems. After looking again at their case notes we were able to prove that they were also suffering from the same condition."

The Extraordinary You project hopes by raising the profile of

scientists like Nuthar they can not only give those normally overlooked the recognition they deserve, but also encourage more people in to the profession.

In the book, there is also the story of Dr Val Davison who made 1m worth of savings from reorganising lab work at a West Midlands hospital.

The extra money allowed her to provide DNA screening for hereditary breast cancer and cancers of the blood. Elsewhere, there is Dr Nick Stone who moved from British Aerospace to the NHS where he became one of the pioneers of light technology to diagnose cancer and to check malignant cells have been removed during surgery.

"It's so important that we change conventional views of scientists," says the Government's chief scientific officer, Sue Hill.

"Far from being stuck in laboratories, more and more they are directly involved with patients and aid doctors in up to 80 per cent of all clinical diagnoses.

"I was a healthcare scientist for 20 years and it allowed me to carry out extremely rewarding work, helping patients suffering from respiratory problems.

"So often it is usually the nurses and doctors who attract the attention, but this is hopefully a chance to redress the balance and show the real breadth and depth of the opportunities available."