Adjunct Associate Professor Timothy Barkham

Research Interest

Clinical Microbiology delivers a variety of both laboratory and clinical aspects of infection, including patient care, bench work, infection control and public health. My research interests are driven by every day observations and problems in clinical practice. Routine work in a busy hospital at the forefront of various outbreaks over the last ten years has provided multiple areas to work on, including epidemiological and clinical aspects of various infections and the introduction of novel diagnostic assays for SARS, TB, Influenza, Chikungunya and Dengue. Some of these were designed and implemented before the outbreaks appeared which enabled us to deal with the onslaught of patients with firm diagnostic confidence. Collaborations with multiple colleagues in both clinical areas and in basic science have been rewarding and stretch from scientists at NUS and A* institutions to ophthalmology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, dermatology at the National Skin Centre and dengue in the Mauritius!

Recent Publications

1. Hutchinson P, Barkham TM, Tang W, Kemeny DM, Chee CB-E, Wang YT (2015) Measurement of phenotype and absolute number of circulating heparin binding hemagglutinin, ESAT-6 and CFP-10, and purified protein derivative antigen-specific CD4 T cells can discriminate active from latent tuberculosis infection. Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, 22(2): 200–212.
2. Shin Y, Perera AP, Tang WY, Fu DL, Liu Q, Sheng JK, Gu Z, Lee TY, Barkham T, Park MK (2015) A rapid amplification/detection assay for analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using an isothermal and silicon bio-photonic sensor complex. Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 68: 390-6.
3. Koh TH, Ko K, Jureen R, Deepak RN, Tee NW, Tan TY, Tay MR, Lee VJ, Barkham TM (2015) High Counts of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Hospital Sewage. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 36(5): 619-21.
4. Gan SH, KhinMar KW, Barkham TM, Koh CK, Shen L, Wang YT, Chee CB (2014) Interferon-gamma responses to M. tuberculosis-specific antigens in diabetes mellitus. European Respiratory Journal, 44(3): 805-8.
5. Leow MK, Dalan R, Chee CB, Earnest A, Chew DE, Tan AW, Kon WY, Jong M, Barkham T, Wang YT (2014) Latent Tuberculosis in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Prevalence, Progression and Public Health Implications. Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes, 122(9): 528-32.
6. Chan M, Lye D, Win MK, Chow A, Barkham T (2014) Clinical and microbiological characteristics of cryptococcosis in Singapore: predominance of Cryptococcus neoformans compared with Cryptococcus gattii. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 26: 110-115.
7. D Esposito for the Tioman Island Sarcocystosis Investigation Team (2014) Acute Muscular Sarcocystosis: An International Investigation Among Ill Travelers Returning From Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2011–2012. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 59(10): 1401–10.
8. Chan M, LIM PL, Chow A, Win MK, Barkham TM (2011) Surveillance for Clostridium difficile Infection: ICD-9Coding Has Poor Sensitivity Compared to Laboratory Diagnosis in Hospital Patients, Singapore. PLoS ONE, 6(1): e15603.
9. Win MK, Chen MI, Barkham T, Lin C, Tan A, Lin R, Leo YS (2011) Influenza disease burden in adults by subtypes following the initial epidemic of pandemic H1N1 in Singapore. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 5(6): e563-7.
10. Chow A, Her Z, Ong EK, Chen JM, Dimatatac F, Kwek DJ, Barkham T, Yang H, Renia L, Leo YS, Ng LF (2011) Persistent Arthralgia Induced by Chikungunya Virus Infection is Associated with Interleukin-6 and Granulocyte Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 203:149–157.