Faculty

Mary F. Barbe

Ph.D.

Dr. Mary Barbe received her B.A. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a PhD in Anatomy from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. She completed an NIH post-doctoral fellowship in developmental neuroscience research at Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA in 1990. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.

Her areas of teaching are gross anatomy, neuroscience, imaging techniques in the Physical Therapy Department. She also lectures in Cell Biology courses in the Anatomy and Cell Biology Department. Dr. Barbe has received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Allied Health Professions in 1994 and 2007.

Dr. Barbe, in collaboration with Dr. Barr and investigators in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology of Temple School of Medicine (Drs. Safadi and Popoff), uses a rat model of cumulative trauma disorder to examine motor behavioral and pathophysiological changes associated with repetitive, forceful upper limb motor tasks. This model is used to examine the exposure-response relationship between motor task repetition rate and force and physiological and behavioral indicators of injury. Recent findings include tissue changes associated with inflammation (increases in macrophages) in muscle, tendon, loose areolar connective tissue, synovial connective tissues and peripheral nerves throughout the reach limb, as well as signs of tendon fray in the flexors of the distal reach limb. There was also evidence that the inflammation was systemic: a pro-inflammatory cytokine was increased in serum. This latter finding has led to a study of indicators of systemic inflammation in the serum of patients with cumulative trauma disorders. Dr. Barbe is also involved in a project with Drs. Ruggieri and Braverman in the Urology Department of Temple Medical School examining the feasibility of intercostal nerve transfer for urinary bladder reinnervation.

Her grant funding sources over the past several years include the Foundation for Physical Therapy, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (CDC-NIOSH), Temple University, and Shriner’s Hospitals. Her current funding is from CDC-NIOSH and NIAMS. Recently, the Office of the Provost at Temple University established a One Million Dollar Research Awards Club to honor faculty members who have successfully obtained externally funded research grants and contracts which equal or exceed $1,000,000. It is noteworthy that both Drs. Barbe and Barr were both chosen to be inducted into this select group of Temple research investigators.
 
Representative Publications:

Selected peer-reviewed publications (last 5 years)

†Barbe MF, †Barr AE, Gorzelany I, Amin M, Gaughan JP, Safadi FF. Chronic repetitive reaching and grasping results in decreased motor performance and widespread tissue responses in a rat model of MSD. J Orthopedic Res 21(1): 167-176, 2003. †Equal contributing authors.

Harding L, Barbe M, Shepard K, Marks A, Ajaii R, Lardiere J, Sweringa H. Posterior-anterior glide of the femoral head in the acetabulum: a cadaver study. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 33(3), 118-25, 2003.

Clark BD, Barr AE, Safadi FF, Beitman L, Al-Shatti T, Amin A, Gaughan JP, Barbe MF. Median nerve trauma in a rat model of work-related musculoskeletal disorder. J Neurotrauma, 20 (7): 681-695, 2003.

Grant-Ford M, Sitler MR, Kozin SH, Barbe MF, and Barr AE. Effect of prophylactic brace on wrist and ulnocarpal joint biomechanics in a cadaveric model. American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM), 31(5): 736-743, 2003.

†Barr AE, Safadi FF, Gorzelany I, Amin A, Popoff SN, †Barbe MF. Repetitive, negligible force reaching in rats induces pathological overloading of upper extremity bones. J Bone and Mineral Research 18 (11): 2023-2032, 2003. † Equal contributing authors.

Barr AE and Barbe MF. Inflammation reduces physiological tissue tolerance in the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. J Electromyography and Kinesiology 14: 77-85, 2004.

Clark BD, Al-Shatti TA, Barr AE, Amin M, Barbe MF. Performance of a high-repetition, high-force task induces carpal tunnel syndrome in rats. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 34(5): 244-253, 2004.

Yue H, Strauss KI, Borenstein MR, Barbe MF, Rossi LJ, Jansen SA. Determination of bioactive eicosanoids in brain tissue by a sensitive reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci.803(2):267-77, 2004.

Barr AE, Barbe MF, Clark BD. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the hand and wrist: epidemiology, patholophysiology, and sensorimotor changes. Special Issue on the Hand: Repetitive stress injuries: the pathophysiology. Invited review. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 34 (10), 610-627, 2004.

Barr AE, Barbe MF, Clark BD. Systemic Inflammatory Mediators Contribute to Widespread Effects in Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. Invited review. Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews, 32(4): 135-142, 2004.

Barbe MF, Bradfield J, Donathan M, Elmaleh J. Co-existence of multiple anomalies in the carpal tunnel. Clinical Anatomy 18(4 ): 251 - 259, 2005.
Al-Shatti TA, Barr AE, Safadi FF, Amin M, Barbe MF. Increase in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in median nerves in a rat model of repetitive motion injury. J Neuroimmunol. 167 (1-2):13-22, 2005

Reger PO, Barbe MF, Amin M, Renna BF, Hewston LA, Macdonnell SM, Houser SR, Libonati JR. Myocardial Hypoperfusion/Reperfusion Tolerance With Exercise Training In Hypertension. J Appl Physiol. 100(2):541-7. 2006. Epub 2005 Oct 13.

†Ruggieri MR, Braverman AS, D’Andrea L, Simpkiss B, Kozin SH, Pontari MA, Gaughan J, Betz R, † Barbe MF. Functional Reinnervation of the Canine Bladder after Spinal Root Transection and Immediate End-on-End Repair. J Neurotrauma.;23(7):1125-36, 2006. † Equal contributing authors.

Barbe MF and Barr AE. Inflammation and the pathophysiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 20(5): 423-429, 2006.

Manns JM, Uknis AB, Rico MC, Agelan A, Castaneda J, Arango I, Barbe MF, Safadi FF, Popoff SN, and DeLa Cadena RA. A peptide from thrombospondin 1 modulates experimental erosive arthritis by regulating connective tissue growth factor. Arthritis Rheum. 25;54(8):2415-2422, 2006

Carp SJ, Barbe MF, Winter KA, Amin M, Barr AE. Increased Cytokines and C-reactive protein in human serum are associated with severity of musculoskeletal disorders from Overuse. Clin Sci (Lond). 112(5):305-14, 2007

Song JJ, Aswad R, Kanaan RA, Rico MC, Owen TA, Barbe MF, Safadi FF, Popoff SN. Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) Acts as a Downstream Mediator of TGF-B1 to Induce Mesenchymal Cell Condensation. J Cell Physiol. 210(2):398-410, 2007.

Abdelmagid SM, Barbe MF, Arango IA, Owen TA, Popoff SN, Safadi FF. Osteoactivin acts as downstream mediator of BMP-2 effects on osteoblast function. J Cell Physiol. 2007210(1):26-37, 2007.

Yue H, Jansen SA, Strauss KI, Borenstein MR, Barbe MF, Rossi LJ, Murphy E. A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric method for simultaneous analysis of arachidonic acid and its endogenous eicosanoid metabolites prostaglandins, dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids, hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids, and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids in rat brain tissue. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 19;43(3):1122-3, 2007.

Driban JB, Swanik BC, Barbe, MF. Anatomical Evaluation of the Tibial Nerve within the Popliteal Fossa. Clin Anat. 20(6):694-69, 2007

Barbe M, Safadi F, Popoff S, Barr A. Dose-response relationship between reach repetition and indicators of inflammation and movement dysfunction in a rat model of work-related musculoskeletal disorder. Temple University, Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, 67-71, 2007.

Pierce SR, Barbe MF, Barr AE, Shewokis PA, Lauer RT. Co-contraction during passive movements of the knee joint in children with cerebral palsy. Clin Biomech 22(9):1045-8, 2007.

Macdonnell SM, Kubo H, Harris DM, Chen X, Berretta R, Barbe MF, Kolwicz , Reger PO, Eckhart AD, Renna BF, Koch WJ, Houser SR, Libonati JR. Calcineurin Inhibition Normalizes Beta-Adrenergic Responsiveness in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 293(5):H3122-9, 2007.

Coq, Jacques-Olivier†, Fabrizio Strata, Céline Rosselet, Fayez F. Safadi, Michael M Merzenich, Nancy N Byl, Mary F. Barbe†. Impact of neonatal asphyxia and hind limb immobilization on musculoskeletal tissues and S1 map organization: functional implications for cerebral palsy. Exp Neurology, In press for 2007. †Equal contributing authors.

Shimei Zhu, Mary F. Barbe†, Neilay Amin, Shoba Rani, Steven N. Popoff, Fayez F. Safadi, Judith Litvin†. Immunolocalization of Periostin-Like-Factor During Embryogenesis. In press for J Histochem & Cytochem. †Equal contributing authors.

Carp SJ, Barr AE, Barbe MF. Serum biomarkers as signals for risk and severity of repetitive stress injuries. In press for Biomarkers in Medicine.

Ruggieri, MR, Braverman AS, D’Andrea L, Barbe MF. Functional reinnervation of the canine bladder after spinal root transection and immediate somatic nerve transfer. In Press for Journal of Neurotrauma.