Family pays tribute to ‘brilliant’ scientist

THE family of a “brilliant” government scientist from Nettlebed who died in a cycling accident while on holiday in Italy has paid tribute to her.

They said Susannah Boddie would be remembered as someone who gave 110 per cent in everything she did and inspired everyone who met her.

Susannah, 27, sustained fatal head injuries in the crash at about 10am on Friday last week as she and her partner Rob Johnson descended a road on the western shore of Lake Garda.

The pair were returning to Verona from the Dolomite Mountains when the accident happened.

Susannah was a lead data scientist and health team manager at 10 Downing Street who helped guide the UK through the coronavirus pandemic and developed key health policies.

Her parents, Simon, 63 and Sarah, 62, and older brothers Oliver, 32, and James, 29, have been inundated with messages from Susannah’s friends and colleagues.

These included a letter from colleagues at Downing Street which paid tribute to her work as a leading government data scientist, tackling some of the biggest challenges in the NHS, from cutting waiting lists to improving urgent and emergency care.

Susannah had modelled the impact of covid to help the NHS better prepare for the winter. The tribute said: “Susannah was a much-loved and admired colleague and friend. She was brilliant and a shining example of the very best of those who chose to dedicate their lives to public service. She will be greatly missed by all those who knew her at No 10 and the wider civil service.”

Susannah lived in London but regularly returned to the family home in Park Corner, where she grew up and would often cycle to.

She was educated at Highmoor Nursery School, Rupert House School in Henley, and St Helen and St Katharine School in Abingdon before going on to study at Cambridge University.

Her father, finance director at Oxford University, and mother, a vet at the Larkmead veterinary practic, in Cholsey, described Susannah as a dedicated student who always wanted to get her homework done so she could get outdoors to enjoy sport.

Mrs Boddie said: “Susannah gave 110 per cent to everything. She was the third child, so she was quite independent. She got on with everything and she loved her sports at school.

“Riding was her main passion growing up and she had an incredible rapport with her ponies.”

Susannah represented the Woodland Pony Club at national level in eventing and dressage and took a year out before university to work in a professional event yard with trainer Lydia Hannon, from Watlington.

She read natural sciences at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and completed a degree in pharmacology followed by a master’s in systems biology. She developed her love of data science while at university.

Mrs Boddie said: “Science was her great love but she was also an amazing artist. Her other enormous skill was baking. Some of her cake creations were phenomenal.”

At Cambridge Susannah captained the horse-riding team and also represented the university in modern pentathlon for three years.

Her mother said: “She left Cambridge with at least one full blue and I think four or five half-blues.

“She was up at 6am every morning, training before lectures and, being a scientist, it was lectures all day. She managed to fit it all in somehow.”

Susannah always found time for other people.

Mrs Boddie said: “She had an enormous number of friends and we knew she was very caring but the stories that have come from friends about how much she looked after them, and was always there for them, have been phenomenally moving.”

After university, Susannah joined the civil service fast track scheme, spending her first year in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Mr Boddie said: “She worked on poverty policy and she was very driven. She had an enormous social conscience. She did a lot of the work that got the £20 uplift during the covid pandemic for those on the poverty line. There was quite a battle around it and a lot of the work she did helped to secure it.

“I think she felt quite proud and that it was the right decision. She certainly wasn’t happy when it ultimately got taken away. She was very concerned about poverty and did a lot of work about food banks and the difference they made, especially during the lockdown.”

Susannah moved on to the data science unit at No 10 where she worked on the response to the pandemic and more recently on health policy issues.

Outside work she retained her love of sport. She ran the London Marathon in three hours and 17 minutes and recently completed a half-Iron Man event. When she moved to London she took up triathlons, joining the Clapham Chasers triathlon club.

Mrs Boddie said: “In London the horse sort of got replaced by the bicycle, except it didn’t completely get replaced. I think she managed two months before she said: ‘I don’t think I can manage life without a horse’.

“She found a horse share and at that point she lived in Brixton and cycled to Chessington an hour away, rode a horse and cycled back before work.”

Two years ago, Susannah and her father cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats together for charity.

Mr Boddie said: “I think Susannah could have done it in about six days but with me she took two weeks. It was wonderful. It was lovely at the time and it’s even more special now.”

She was also a passionate park runner and this weekend friends a family will be doing park runs across the UK in her memory. Her family said she cared passionately about the environment and held strong opinions. Oliver, an engineer, said: “She was a very straight talker but she never put anyone’s back up.

“All her friends used to come to her for advice because they knew she’d be completely honest — in a nice way. All the tributes people have been making just show how much she inspired them.

“She had a knack of knowing when people needed her support and to be there for them.

“We’re a very close family. I think back to family meals when she’d get the giggles and just be laughing hysterically. She was such a positive, happy person, just a joy to spend time with.”

Mr Boddie said: “I don’t think any of us realised quite what a high-flyer she was at No 10 until this happened. She was very modest. When I talked to her, she was working on loads of things that were big challenges.”

Mrs Boddie added: “The world was her oyster and she had been promoted incredibly quickly.

“I think the combination of science data and making a difference in public service was very motivating for her and gave her a sense of purpose. She definitely wanted to make a difference. She always said to me she just wanted to help people.

“She’d achieved more in her 27 years than many do. She crammed so much into her life. She had an incredible determination and she pursued so many interests but still made time for everyone she cared about. Her memory will continue to inspire us in all we do.”