Prof. Gemeda Abebe is a Professor of Molecular Medical Microbiology at the Inistitute of Health in Jimma University. He was born and raised in East Wellega Zone Kiremu Weredea in 1972. He attended his primary school in Kiremu and secondary school at Gidda Ayana Senior Secondary School. He received his BSc in Medical Laboratory Technology from Jimma University, Ethiopia. He got his MSc in Molecular Biology (Human Health) from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium and PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. Professor Gemeda has been awarded VLIR Scholarship at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (2004); Welcome trust overseas training at Malawi-Liverpool-Welcome Trust Clinical Research Program, Blantyre, Malawi (2013), VLIR-UOS PhD scholarship at University of Antwerp,(2009), and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Travel Award, keystone, Colorado, USA (2016). He attended trainings in science ethics at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Brussels, Belgium (2010), Molecular Approach to Clinical Microbiology in Africa at Malawi-Liverpool-Welcome Trust Clinical Research Program, Malawi (2013), Application of FDA stain for viability testing of M. tuberculosis, at National Biomedical Center, Kigali, Rwanda (2015), design and analysis of experiments and publication of peer reviewed papers in reputable journals at Jimma University (2017) and others. Prof. Gemeda Abebe has been involved in teaching, research and community services for more than two decades. He has been offering several courses to undergraduate and postgraduate (MSc and PhD) students in various universities of Ethiopia. He has published more than 51 multidisciplinary research papers in national and international peer reviewed journals. He has served as editor of different national and international journals. He has supervised more than 20 postgraduate (both MSc and PhD) students in national and international universities. He initiated and established the Mycobacteriology Laboratory which later on became part of the Mycobacteriology Research Center. The laboratory is currently providing referral lab service on MDR-TB diagnosis and treatment follow-up to facilities in Southwest part of Ethiopia community and collaborates with other institutions nationally and globally. . He has coordinated and participated in different international projects that aimed to contribute to the improvement of health in Ethiopian. Currently he is principal investigator of two projects funded by European Union and Flemish Interuniversity council (VLIR-JOINT) and investigator of a project funded by World Health Organization. Currently, Prof Gemeda Abebe is the Head of Mycobacteriology Research Center at Jimma University and Professor of Molecular Medical Microbiology. Previously he was director of Institute of Biotechnology Research, Head of School of Medical Laboratory Technology and Ethics officer at Jimma University. He has chaired the Ethiopian Medical Laboratory Association (EMLA) from August 2014 to May 2019, and has established strong linkage between the sister professional societies and Universities. He is a member of tuberculosis research advisory committee (TRAC) to the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia since 2009, and he is corresponding member of Clinical Molecular Biology Curriculum group at International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC). He has also served as member of the International Scientific Advisory Board for the 23rd international Congress of Clinical chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, conducted in Durban, South Africa during the year 2017.
