Michael Barrett is Professor of Biochemical Parasitology at the University of Glasgow and is an internationally renowned leader in the field of Neglected Tropical Disease research. His clinical impacts include identifying novel biomarkers for advanced stages of sleeping sickness, and the development of field tests to assess drug resistance.
His leadership in tackling sleeping sickness has contributed to a remarkable fall in cases globally to fewer than 100 a year from an estimated 300,000 at the turn of the century. When the COVID19 pandemic emerged he repurposed his skills forming part of a team that created the Lighthouse COVID19 testing laboratory in Glasgow for which he was honoured with an OBE for services to the NHS.