Barbara Barbé

Barbara Barbé is a leading researcher in Tropical Bacteriology at the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, focusing on diagnostic solutions for infectious diseases in resource-limited settings across sub-Saharan Africa. Her work spans the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, and Mozambique, addressing critical gaps in rural healthcare infrastructure through innovative laboratory and diagnostic approaches.

Her primary research interests include diagnostic microbiology for neglected tropical diseases, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and field-deployable diagnostic technologies. She specializes in developing practical solutions for rural hospitals, with particular emphasis on bloodstream infections, febrile illnesses, and pathogens like Salmonella Typhimurium. Her fingerprint analysis reveals strong expertise in routine diagnostic tests (36%), rural hospital systems (25%), African trypanosomiasis (23%), and nervous system complications of infections (17%).

Analysis of her 49 research outputs shows consistent focus on translational diagnostics and health system integration. Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate growing emphasis on genomic approaches to antimicrobial resistance and mobile laboratory solutions, with 87% of her work directly applicable to primary healthcare settings in low-income countries. Key trends include the shift from single-pathogen diagnostics toward syndromic approaches and increasing use of genomic epidemiology.

Her major funded projects include:

• NIDIAG (2010-2016): European Commission-funded research on integrated diagnosis-treatment platforms for neglected infectious diseases at primary healthcare level
• FA5 BENIN (2022-2026): Directorate-General for Development Cooperation project to increase institutional capacity of LRM and CERRHUD for improved healthcare quality in Benin

Barbé leads the development of innovative solutions like the Laboratory-on-a-ship – a containerized microbiology culture media production facility for local use in remote areas. Her team maintains active collaborations across 12 similar research profiles focused on African infectious disease diagnostics, with particular strength in Democratic Republic of Congo research (100% fingerprint match).