Bàrbara Baro graduated in Biotechnology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2007. She obtained her PhD in Biomedicine at Universitat de Barcelona in 2013, working on the molecular regulation of mitosis at the laboratory of Dr. Ethel Queralt (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), under an FPU fellowship.
In 2014, she joined Dr. Marcus Lacerda’s group at the Tropical Medicine Foundation Dr.Heitor Vieira Dourado (Manaus, Brazil), where she worked on malaria vivax as a FAPEAM postdoctoral fellow. In collaboration with Dr. Hernando del Portillo’s group at ISGlobal, she characterized the parasites found in the bone marrow during infection and their impact on erythropoiesis. In 2016, she continued her postdoctoral training at Stanford University (USA), at the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Egan, where she worked on new host-parasite interactions during Plasmodium falciparum infection, under a fellowship of the Stanford Child Health Research Institute.
In 2018, she joined ISGlobal as a Beatriu de Pinós fellow to perform malaria epidemiology studies in Lihir Islands (Papua New Guinea), in collaboration with the PNG Institute of Medical Research. During the pandemic, she actively participated in researching the epidemiology, diagnostics, and treatment of COVID-19 in collaboration with several hospitals of Barcelona.
In 2023, she was appointed Assistant Research Professor at ISGlobal, where she currently leads several projects related to improving triaging and management of severe infections.
Lines of research
- Validate new tools for improved diagnostics and treatment of infections.
- Develop new tools for improved risk stratification of infections.
- Enhance rapid tests for improved diagnostics in low-income countries.
Main publications
- Alemany A, Millat-Martinez P, Corbacho-Monné M, Malchair P, Ouchi D, Ruiz-Comellas A, Ramírez-Morros A, Rodríguez Codina J, Amado Simon R, Videla S, Costes G, Capdevila-Jáuregui M, Torrano-Soler P, San José A, Bonet Papell G, Puig J, Otero A, Ruibal Suarez JC, Zarauza Pellejero A, Llopis Roca F, Rodriguez Cortez O, Garcia Garcia V, Vidal-Alaball J, Millan A, Contreras E, Grifols JR, Ancochea À, Galvan-Femenia I, Piccolo Ferreira F, Bonet M, Cantoni J, Prat N, Ara J, Forcada Arcarons A, Farré M, Pradenas E, Blanco J, Àngel Rodriguez-Arias M, Fernández Rivas G, Marks M, Bassat Q, Blanco I, Baro B, Clotet B, Mitjà O; CONV-ERT Group. High-titre methylene blue-treated convalescent plasma as an early treatment for outpatients with COVID-19: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2022 Mar;10(3):278-288.
- Baro B, Rodo P, Ouchi D, Bordoy AE, Saya Amaro EN, Salsench SV, Molinos S, Alemany A, Ubals M, Corbacho-Monné M, Millat-Martinez P, Marks M, Clotet B, Prat N, Estrada O, Vilar M, Ara J, Vall-Mayans M, G-Beiras C, Bassat Q, Blanco I, Mitjà O. Performance characteristics of five antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) for SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic infection: a head-to-head benchmark comparison. Journal of Infection. 2021 Jun 82(6):269-275
- Alemany A*, Baro B*, Ouchi D, Rodó P, Ubals M, Corbacho-Monné M, Vergara-Alert J, Rodon J, Segalés J, Esteban C, Fernández G, Ruiz L, Bassat Q, Clotet B, Ara J, Vall-Mayans M, G-Beiras C, Blanco I, Mitjà O. Analytical and clinical performance of the panbio COVID-19 antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic test. Journal of Infection. 2021 May;82(5):186-230. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.12.033.
- Millat-Martínez P, Gabong R, Balanza N, Luana S, Sanz S, Raulo S, Elizah A, Wali C, Paivu B, Dalmas J, Tabie S, Karl S, Laman M, Pomat W, Mitjà O, Baro B, Bassat Q. Coverage, determinants of use and repurposing of long-lasting insecticidal nets two years after a mass distribution in Lihir Islands, Papua New Guinea: a cross-sectional study. Malar Journal. 2021 Aug 4;20(1):336.
- Brito MAM*, Baro B*, Raiol TC, Ayllon-Hermida A, Safe IP, Deroost K, Figueiredo EFG, Costa AG, Armengol MDP, Sumoy L, Almeida ACG, Hounkpe BW, De Paula EV, Fernandez-Becerra C, Monteiro WM, Del Portillo HA, Lacerda MVG. Morphological and Transcriptional Changes in Human Bone Marrow During Natural Plasmodium vivax Malaria Infections. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2022 Apr 1;225(7):1274-1283.
- Baro B*, Deroost K*, Raiol T, Brito M, Almeida AC, de Menezes-Neto A, Figueiredo EF, Alencar A, Leitão R, Val F, Monteiro W, Oliveira A, Armengol MD, Fernández-Becerra C, Lacerda MV, Del Portillo HA. Plasmodium vivax gametocytes in the bone marrow of an acute malaria patient and changes in the erythroid miRNA profile. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2017 Apr 6;11(4):e0005365.
