Name: Dr. Teresa M. Barbosa
Position: Lecturer
T: 353 (0)21 4901390
F: 353 (0)21 4903101
E: t.barbosa@ucc.ie
Biography
Academic Career
1987-1993: Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy. University of Porto, Portugal.
1993-1994: M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
1995-1998: Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology, University of Aberdeen/ Rowett Research Institute, Scotland, UK.
1998-2002: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance,Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA.
2002-2006: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal.
2006-2007: Postdoctoral Research Fellow , Biochemistry Department , University College Cork, Ireland.
2008-present: Lecturer (fixed-term), Microbiology Department, University College Cork, Ireland.
Teaching areas
- General and Environmental Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Medical Microbiology
Research interests and expertise
- Molecular and genetic basis of antibiotic resistance and other stress responses.
- Development of therapeutic alternatives to conventional antibiotics.
Research
Research Overview
My scientific research interests fall into two broad categories. The first, to prolong the lifespan of current antimicrobial therapies through an improved understanding of the molecular and genetic basis for antibiotic resistance, has involved studies on tetracycline resistance transfer among obligate anaerobes from the ruminant gut, and studies on the Escherichia coli mar regulon (which is a network of chromosomal genes that mediate the development of resistance/tolerance to different cellular stresses, including multiple antibiotic resistance).
The second category, to develop therapeutic alternatives to antibiotics in infectious disease, focussed on the exploitation of gut sporeformers as probiotics in veterinary and human clinical settings and the identification/characterisation of bioactive compounds from gut- and marine sponge-associated sporeforming bacteria.
Publications
Research Publications:
Schyns G., Potot S., Geng Y., Barbosa T.M., Henriques A., and Perkins J.B. (2005) Isolation and characterisation of new thiamine-deregulated mutants of Bacillus subtilis . Journal of Bacteriology 187, 8127-8136.
Barbosa, T.M., Serra, C.R., La Ragione, R.M., Woodward, M.J. and Henriques, A.O. (2005). Screening for Bacillus isolates in the gastrointestinal tract of broilers. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 71, 968-978.
Duc, L.H., Hong, H.A., Barbosa T.M., Henriques, A.O., and Cutting, S.M. (2004). Characterisation of Bacillus probiotics available for human use. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70, 2161-2171.
Schneiders, T., Barbosa, T.M., McMurry, L.M., and Levy, S.B. (2004). The Escherichia coli transcriptional regulator MarA directly represses transcription of purA and hdeA . Journal of Biological Chemistry 279, 9037-9042.
Barbosa, T.M. and Levy, S.B. (2002). Activation of the Escherichia coli nfnB gene by MarA through a highly divergent marbox in a class II promoter. Molecular Microbiology 45, 191-202.
Barbosa, T.M. and Levy, S.B. (2000). Differential expression of over 60 chromosomal genes in Escherichia coli by constitutive expression of MarA. Journal of Bacteriology 182, 3467-3474.
Scott, K.P., Melville, C.M., Barbosa, T.M., and Flint H.J. (2000). Occurrence of the new tetracycline resistance gene tet (W) in bacteria from the human gut. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 44, 775-777.
Levy, S.B., McMurry, L.M., Barbosa, T.M., Burdett, V., Courvalin, P., Hillen, W., Roberts, M.C., Rood, J.I. and Taylor, D.E. (1999). Nomenclature for new tetracycline resistance determinants. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 43, 1523-1524.
Barbosa, T.M., Scott, K.P. and Flint H.J. (1999). Evidence for recent intergeneric transfer of a new tetracycline resistance gene, tet (W), isolated from Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens , and the occurrence of tet (O) in ruminal bacteria. Environmental Microbiology 1, 53-64.
Scott, K.P., Barbosa, T.M., Forbes, K.J. and Flint H.J. (1997). High-frequency transfer of a naturally occurring chromosomal tetracycline resistance element in the ruminal anaerobe Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens . Applied and Environmental Microbiology 63, 3405-3411.
Reviews:
Barbosa, T.M. and Levy, S.B. (2001). Antibiotic use and resistance: What lies beneath! APUA (Alliance for Prudent Use of Antibiotics) Newsletter 19, 1-3.
Barbosa, T.M. and Levy, S.B. (2000). The impact of antibiotic use on resistance development and persistence – Review. Drug Resistance Updates 3, 303-311.
Book Chapters:
Barbosa, T.M. and Pomposiello, P.J. (2005). The mar regulon, p. 209-223. In David G. White, Michael N. Alekshun, Patrick F. McDermott, (ed.). Frontiers in Antibiotic Resistance: A Tribute to Stuart B. Levy . American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D. C.
Mullany, P., Barbosa, T.M., Scott, K.P., and Roberts, A.P. (2004) Mechanisms of Gene Transfer and the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in Spore Forming Organisms in the GI Tract, p. 113-129. In Ezio Ricca, Adriano O. Henriques, and Simon M. Cutting, (ed.), Bacterial spore formers: probiotics and emerging applications . Horizon Bioscience, London, United Kingdom.
Barbosa, T.M., Serra, C.R., and Henriques, A.O. (2004) Gut Sporeformers, p. 183-191. In Ezio Ricca, Adriano O. Henriques, and Simon M. Cutting, (ed.), Bacterial spore formers: probiotics and emerging applications . Horizon Bioscience, London, United Kingdom.
Research Group Members
Robert W. Phelan (PhD student)
Internal
collaborators
Prof Fergal O’ Gara, Biomerit Research centre, UCC.
Professor Alan Dobson, Environmental Research Institute, UCC
Research Projects in the group
Identification and characterisation of marine sponge bacteria, and their associated anti-infective arsenal, with special focus on sporeformers .