A scientist who used groundbreaking techniques to develop faster Covid tests has received a British Empire Medal.

Dr Lisa Levett BEM, from Gidea Park in Romford, was awarded the medal last Friday (November 18) at the Tower of London.

The medal was awarded for her contribution to science in healthcare, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, in the Queen's birthday honours.

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She said: "I was quite surprised to be awarded the medal! I wasn't expecting it at all.

"I opened the door one Saturday afternoon to the postman with a white envelope and it said 'The Cabinet Office' on it and I thought 'oh I hope this isn't a tax bill'.

"But, it was a letter saying that I had been recommended for the British Empire Medal and the Prime Minister needed to confirm that I would accept it before sending it on to the Queen. I couldn't believe it.

"I was very honoured to receive that."

Prior to the pandemic, Dr Levett worked to develop prenatal testing for women pregnant women looking to see if their baby had down syndrome.

At the time, testing took two weeks but she managed to develop a test that allowed pregnant women to receive their results in two days, alleviating much of their anxiety about the testing. 

She also pulled together 20 labs across London into one hub lab to do NHS and private sector testing.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she worked to develop a test for Covid very early on.

At the start of the pandemic, when ingredients needed for Covid testing were not available, Dr Levett developed tests that did not require that ingredient.

She added: "When I received the medal, we were all called up one-by-one and presented the medal by the Lord Lieutenant of London.

"There was a lady who was explaining in quite a lot of detail, what each one of us had done.

"It was nice to hear so many happy stories and so many people that had done a lot for the community, especially over the last few years when people had been struggling quite a lot.

"It was just a really lovely way of celebrating people's achievements."