I am a Public Eye Health academic working at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and in Ethiopia.

I completed the undergraduate ophthalmic officer course topping my year group with “Great Distinction” at the University of Gondar in 2007. I have studied on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) MSc in Public Health for Eye Care, graduating top my year group in 2011, and was awarded the Gordon Johnson Prize for outstanding performance. In 2016 I completed my PhD on the surgical management of trachomatous trichiasis and its impact on quality of life. I was awarded the 2017 LSHTM Woodruff Medal for the outstanding doctoral thesis completed that year. Immediately after completing my PhD, I was employed at LSHTM in Postdoctoral Research Fellow position since which I am actively engaged in research and teaching in two compulsory modules for MSc Public Health for Eye Care (PHEC). In 2019, I was awarded the LSHTM Director’s Award for Early Career Researcher making significant contributions in their field of research and demonstrating the potential to progress as a future academic leader. In 2018 I was elected an affiliate of the African Academy of Science. In 2020 I have joined College of Medicine and Health Science at Bahirdar University in Ethiopia in Adjunct Assistant Professor position. in 2021, I am awarded a five-year (2021-2026) Wellcome Trust International Intermediate Fellowship ($1.29 million).

I joined the LSHTM / Carter Center / Amhara Regional Health Bureau Joint Trachoma Research Programme in 2007. Initially as the project coordinator and later as the programme manager and local principal investigator. During that time, we have completed four large randomised controlled trials on the management of trachomatous trichiasis, which have translated into WHO and National guidelines and practice in many trachoma endemic countries. Our work, and my PhD has largely been funded by the Wellcome Trust. I have participated in the development of various international and national trachoma control manuals and guidelines, including the 2015 and 2018 WHO Global Scientific Meetings on Trachoma Control, and the 2021 informal consultation on end-game challenges for trachoma elimination organised by WHO. I have been awarded ten research grants (total of over $3.8 million) and published 37 research articles.

In 2019 I established a not-for-profit, non-governmental comprehensive eye care research and training institution in Ethiopia that will generate concrete evidence and train health professionals to build an independent sustainable eye care service to alleviate the huge burden of avoidable blindness in Ethiopia. I am the member of the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) Trachoma Expert Committee (TEC) - an independent body of internationally recognized experts that meets twice annually to review country applications for donations of Zithromax® for trachoma control, and consult ITI on strategic, technical, and operational issues. I am also serving as the member of the Project Oversight Committee for the Avoidable Blindness Grant funded by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and managed by ITI. The Committee provide strategic direction and leadership to ensure success of the funded trachoma elimination projects in Mali, Niger, and Tanzania. I am also serving in various committees at the national and regional level in Ethiopia including the Ethiopia National Trachoma Task Force, Ethiopia Trachoma Advisory Group, Ethiopia National NTD Research Advisory Committee, Technical Eye Health Advisory Committee (co-chair) of Amhara Regional State (~23 million population). I am also contributing as external reviewer for clinical trial protocols for the National Research Ethics Review Committee at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Ethiopia. I am an editor for the Neglected Tropical Diseases section of Frontiers in Tropical Diseases journal, reviewing Editor for Ophthalmic Epidemiology and have been serving as a guest editor and reviewer for many prominent international peer-reviewed journals including the Lancet Global Health, PLOS NTD, and British Journal of Ophthalmology.