Dr Timothy Barnett

Associate Professor Tim Barnett is a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Group Leader at The Kids Research Institute Australia, and Deputy Director of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.

Tim completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania, prior to postdoctoral studies at Emory University, where he first started working on Group A Streptococcus (Strep A), and the University of Queensland. It was during this time that he became fascinated by how this pathogen could cause such diverse diseases in different individuals.

His current work seeks to understand how and why Strep A targets the tonsils during infection, and to use this information to develop new treatment and prevention strategies. His team uses laboratory-grown tonsil models to study bacterial adhesion and invasion, and has described host-dependent mechanisms of antibiotic resistance that help explain why antibiotics sometimes fail to clear Strep A.

He also works with international teams to define how Strep A infection triggers acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. This research is conducted in partnership with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and collaborators across Australia, Africa, New Zealand and Europe.