Rate My Professor Indran Balakrishnan

Dr Indran Balakrishnan serves as Consultant and Clinical Lead in Medical Microbiology at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. He is also Honorary Associate Professor in Medical Microbiology within the Division of Infection and Immunity at University College London. His professional qualifications include BSc, MSc, MRCP, and FRCPath. Throughout his career, he has held key leadership roles, including chairing the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee at the Royal Free London, acting as teaching lead for communicable diseases, and serving as an examiner for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists examinations. Balakrishnan's contributions extend to clinical trials and national surveillance studies, such as the EuSCAPE-UK study on carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae prevalence, incidence, detection methods, and infection control measures.

Balakrishnan's research specializations center on the rapid diagnosis of antimicrobial resistance using techniques like MALDI-TOF MS and therapeutic options for infections caused by multiresistant Enterobacteriaceae, with a focus on β-lactam antibiotics including temocillin and mecillinam. He has authored or co-authored 32 publications, accumulating 693 citations. Key publications include 'Temocillin use in England: clinical and microbiological efficacies in infections caused by extended-spectrum and/or derepressed AmpC β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae' (Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2011), 'β-lactam allergy: clinical implications and costs' (Clinical and Molecular Allergy, 2013), 'Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the UK: a national study (EuSCAPE-UK)' (2016), 'Temocillin: Is this the Right Momentum for Its Global Use?' (2019), 'Activity of mecillinam against OXA-48-like carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales' (2021), and 'Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Determination of Systemic MIC Breakpoints for Intermittent, Extended, and Continuous Infusion Dosage Regimens of Mecillinam' (2023). Earlier works cover topics such as cryptococcal cholangitis (1997), pneumococcal bacteraemia predictors (2000), and Leuconostoc bacteraemia treatment (2012). In 2020, he received the Top Teacher award at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, recognizing his excellence in medical education. His work impacts antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, and clinical management of resistant infections.