Hailemichael Desalegn Mekonnen, MD, PhD

Dr. Hailemichael Desalegn graduated from medical school and specialty in Internal Medicine at Jimma University, Ethiopia. He completed a fellowship program in Gastroenterology/Hepatology in 2014 at Addis Ababa University. In 2020, he has successfully defended his PhD with an outstanding performance at Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology (ALIPB) on Tropical and Infectious Disease (TRID). The main focus of his PhD work on Non-invasive markers of Liver Fibrosis and simplified treatment program for Hepatitis B virus in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is currently working as an Associate Professor and Consultant Gastroenterologist/Hepatologist in St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College. He has established and is a Director of Sub-Saharan Africa Gastroenterology ECHO clinic.

Dr. Hailemichael has publications in reputable Journals and is actively involved in the fight against viral hepatitis elimination. As one of the few gastroenterologists in his country of more than 100 million individuals, he has a passion to translate research findings to improvements in the access and quality of care and simplified approach for hepatitis in resource limited settings.

He has built successful research collaborations addressing key questions in the area of viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Through collaboration, he has established one of the largest treatment cohorts for Hepatitis B in sub-Saharan Africa. Through this cohort, he has contributed key knowledge in the presentation, natural evolution, and treatment success for Hepatitis B in Ethiopia. He was also involved in simplified point of care tests for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses. Additionally, he led a study on hepatocellular carcinoma through an award from the International Liver Cancer Association.