Dr Teresa M. Barbosa is a Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy Practice and the Director of the MSc in Clinical Pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy, University College Cork. Dr Teresa Barbosa received a B.Sc. Pharm from University of Porto, Portugal. She won a M.Sc. scholarship from the European Social Fund (Assessment of several analytical methods for the purification and characterisation of exported bacterial proteins) and doctoral scholarship from the programme PRAXIS XXI, Portuguese Government (Tetracycline resistance transfer among obligate anaerobes from the ruminant gut), which she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Dr Barbosa completed her post-doctoral work with the world authority and pioneer in the area of AMR and AMS Prof. Stuart B. Levy in the Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA. In 2006 she joined UCC has a lecturer in the School of Microbilogy and more recently in the School of Pharmacy. For the last 25 years Dr Barbosa has conducted research in different aspects of Infectious Disease, Antimicrobials, Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Stewardship. Her research and scholarly activity is not limited to these areas however, and her interests also cover other patient safety related topics and healthcare education.

Total Citations: 3920

h-index: 16; i10-index: 20 

Education Qualifications

Languages

1. Antimicrobial use and optimisation in infectious disease

2. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) including One Health, Patient experiences of AMR, Communication and education

3. Medication safety

4. Pharmacy education    

My initial studies have focussed on prolonging the lifespan of current anitmicrobial therapies and providing the knowledfge needed for the rational design of new therapeutical agents through greater understanding of the molecular and genetics basis for antibiotic resistance. As bacterial reistance has emerged against clinically relevant antibiotics, and multidrug resistance strains have become widespread both in hospitals and the community, the development of new drugs has become of critical importance. Therefore, more recently, I have aldo developed specific interests in the functional diversity of environmental bacteria, and the mechanisms underlining their roles in promoting and preventing infectious disease. Coupled with this has been ab increased recognition of the potential that these bacteria have to act as a source of novel biologically activie molecules and the therapeutic opportunities that this presents.

Some of these products, such as the probiotics, carry some risk however, and it is important that we deepen our understanding of how commensal bacteria can act as natural reservoirs of antibiotics resistance determinants which, through horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, can so easlity be transmitted to clincally significant pathogens. While the development of new effective antibiotics is urgently needed, we also need to ensure prevention of healthcare-associated and other infections and the rational use of existing and new medicines. This is extremely important as the stage has been set got the emergence of new opportunistic infections, with modern therapeutic approaches creating an increased number of immuno-compromised patients, and a general increase in the number of elderly patients. This is particularly worrying in hospital settings where nococomial infections are already responsible for a significant number of patient deaths.

Quite apart from the important healthcare issues there is increased appreciation that antibiotic resistance also represents a huge financial burden on the health system, with the clinical response often necessitating the use of less common more expensive and toxic drugs and prolonged treatments. Effective management of the current situation can only be succeeded if all actions are appropriately coordinated between the different stakeholders, including research, health, economics and general public. Pharmacits have a privileged position when it comes to addressing the widespread overuse and misuse of antibiotics. As part of multidisciplinary teams, pharmacists can activitely engage with prescribers and other healthcare providers, to minimise inappropriate prescribing, and optimise antibiotic use. This has been recognised in the implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship programmes, and the introduction of specialists antimicrobial/infectious diseases pharmacists in many hospitals.

Pharmacists can also contribute to the rational use of these agents in the community and primary care settings by promoting and participating in education campaigns in the correct use of these drugs. Such campaigns could target both prescribers and the public, and should enhance patient care by reducing the risk of developing resistance. Consequently, part of my research since I joined the Clinical Practice group in the School of Pharmacy, UCC, has focussed in researching different aspects of these issues and in particular the importance of awareness with regards to infection control and the threat of antimicrobial resistance.