Module Head – Pharmacology
Professor, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town
Prof Karen I Barnes first joined the University of Cape Town as a senior lecturer in 1995, and progressed via ad hominem promotions to associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2008. Her work in malaria started when she was appointed as a member of the South African National Malaria Advisory Group in 1996. She subsequently joined the Regional Malaria Control Commission, and has served on a number of World Health Organization committees that guide malaria treatment policy. She is passionate about ensuring that evidence-based policies are effectively implemented into public sector practice. Within the 200,000km2 of the Lebombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSDI) areas in Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa, she has worked with the malaria control programmes and the Medical Research Council to develop the tools and skills essential for the successful implementation and monitoring of their new malaria treatment policies. Her research interests are mainly the comprehensive evaluation of malaria treatment policy changes in Southern Africa and improving antimalarial treatment for vulnerable populations. Her recent studies include the evaluation of antimalarial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in children, pregnant women and patients living with HIV/AIDS.
Education
2004 MMed (Clinical Pharmacology), University of Cape Town, South Africa
1988 MBChB, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Professional Associations
Federation of Infectious Disease Societies of Southern Africa
South African Pharmacology Society
Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Representative Publications
Nyunt MM, Adam I, Kayentao K, van Dijk J, Thuma P, Mauff K, Little F, Cassam Y, Guirou E, Traore B, Doumbo O, Sullivan D, Smith P, Barnes KI. Pharmacokinetics of sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine in intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2010 Feb; 87(2):226-34.
Raman J, Little F, Roper C, Kleinschmidt I, Cassam Y, Maharaj R, Barnes KI. Five years of large-scale dhfr and dhps mutation surveillance following the phased implementation of artesunate plus sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in Maputo Province, Southern Mozambique. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2010 May; 82(5):788-94.
Barnes KI, Little F, Mabuza A, Mngomezulu N, Govere J, Durrheim D, Roper C, Watkins B, White NJ. Increased gametocytemia after treatment: an early parasitological indicator of emerging sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance in falciparum malaria. J Infect Dis 2008 Jun 1; 197(11):1605-13.
Barnes KI, Watkins WM, White NJ. Antimalarial dosing regimens and drug resistance. Trends Parasitol 2008; 13(1): 127-34.
Barnes KI, Lindegardh N, Ogundahunsi O et al. World Antimalarial Resistance Network (WARN) IV: clinical pharmacology. Malaria J 2007; 6: 122.
Barnes KI, Little F, Smith PJ, Evans A, Watkins WM, White NJ. Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine pharmacokinetics in malaria: paediatric dosing implications. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2006; 80(6): 582-96.
Barnes KI, Durrheim DN, Little F, Jackson A, Mehta U, Allen E, Dlamini SS, Tsoka J, Bredenkamp B, Mthembu DJ, White NJ, Sharp BL. Effect of Artemether-Lumefantrine Policy and Improved Vector Control on Malaria Burden in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. PLOS Medicine 2005; 2(11):e330
Barnes KI, Mwenechanya J, Tembo M et al. Efficacy of rectal artesunate in the initial treatment of moderately severe malaria in African children and adults. The Lancet 2004; 363(9421):1598-605.
