Michael Barrett (born 29 December 1964) is Professor of Biochemical Parasitology at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. His research focuses on understanding how drugs work against parasites and how parasites become resistant to drugs. He is also Director of Glasgow Polyomics, a facility specialising in genomic, proteomic and metabolomic technologies, and directs the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA). Barrett advises several international organisations on issues surrounding drug development and resistance, including the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) where he is part of the expert group on human African trypanosomiasis (

sleeping sickness African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species '' Trypanosoma b ...

) and the

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is a collaborative, patients' needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development (R&D) organization that is developing new treatments for neglected tropical diseases, neglected diseases, notab ...

(DNDi).

Early life and education

Barrett was educated at Latton Green primary school and Latton Bush secondary school in

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

, Essex. He studied Zoology at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(1983-1986), qualifying with BSc Hons (Class 1). He went on to study for a PhD in Pathology at the University of Cambridge ( Queens’ College), graduating in 1990.

Career and research

Barrett’s career in research has focused primarily on

neglected tropical diseases Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteri ...

, particularly the trypanosomiases and leishmaniases. From Cambridge, he spent several years in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

on a Royal Society fellowship before returning to the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

. In 1996 he moved to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to set up his own laboratory. He has been involved in numerous projects seeking new drugs to treat these diseases and was director of new drug discovery at the Consortium of Parasitic Drug Development, a consortium centred at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and funded by the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

between 2003-2012. The group took pafuramidine, a new orally available drug for human

African trypanosomiasis African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species ''Trypanosoma bru ...

, through phase III clinical trials, although unanticipated toxicity issues halted development. He established the Scottish Metabolomics facility at the University of Glasgow that evolved into Glasgow Polyomics and his own research makes extensive use of genomics and metabolomics to identify drug modes of action and the mechanisms by which pathogens become resistant to drugs. To date, his group has identified new modes of action and resistance mechanisms to more than ten novel compounds that kill protozoa. Barrett also writes regularly for a variety of newspapers and magazines on topics related to science and also spanning the arts and sciences interface, particularly the

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

. He is an enthusiastic proponent of public engagement with science and authored a booklet on “The Scottish Encounter with Tropical Disease".

Awards and honours

Barrett was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

as Director at the Glasgow Lighthouse Laboratory during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2021. He was awarded the C.A. Wright medal by the

British Society for Parasitology The British Society for Parasitology is a UK-based organisation of British parasitologists. It was founded in April 1962 from the Parasitological Section of the Institute of Biology. The initial goals of the society were to hold two meetings yearly ...

in 2014. He was elected as a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

in 2013 and a

Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) is an award for medical scientists who are judged by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences for the "excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of the ...

in 2024."https://acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/academy-of-medical-sciences-fellows-2024"

Personal life

Barrett married Dr. Sophie Weston in 1997 and they have two sons, Thomas (b. 2000) and Angus (b. 2001). He is a keen sportsman, moving on from football, rugby and cricket in earlier years to cycling and golf.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Michael 1964 births Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the University of Glasgow British parasitologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British pathologists People from Harlow Alumni of University College London Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 21st-century British medical doctors