My name is Desalegn Tadese. I was born and raised in the small village of Embamadre in the state of Tigrai, Ethiopia. I went to public school for primary and secondary education. Then, I attended Addis Ababa University to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science in the hopes of becoming a clinical laboratory scientist.
I was recruited to a governmental health institution as a junior clinical laboratory technologist. I worked for three different governmental health institutions before transferring to Mekelle University College of Health Sciences as a graduate assistant II. At Mekelle University, I decided to study for a graduate degree in Medical Laboratory Science with a specialty in Medical Parasitology. Currently I am working as an academic staff of the Department of Medical Parasitology and Entomology at the College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University since 2012.
Because of my background in Medical Laboratory Science from Addis Ababa University, I have been engaged in different laboratories as well as teaching and research related to infectious and non-infectious diseases for the last twelve years. I have been exposed to excellent opportunities concerning research and laboratory based environments.
My masters dissertation was on leishmaniasis. Specifically, I focused on understanding the epidemiology of leishmaniasis of suspected patients from endemic areas using serological and leishmanial skin tests. My involvement in research on neglected tropical diseases – specifically on leishmaniasis – motivated me to work more in this area. It also enabled me to know about the disease as a major public health problem and untouched research area that needs a good insight for policy makers and academics and could benefit from community based interventions.
I am excited to begin my PhD at Mekelle University and I am very happy to be a member of the ECLIPSE project. I am absolutely sure this opportunity given to me will be an asset to my college and the whole community.