Dr Tigestu Alemu Desse is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, NCDs and implementation lab. He obtained his PhD from Deakin University, Australia in 2023. Prior to pursuing his PhD, he served as a lecturer, researcher, and practising clinical pharmacist at Addis Ababa University and Jimma University in Ethiopia. Throughout his career, he has honed teaching, leadership and communication, and research skills, and cultivated a deep understanding of the intricacies of academic and research environment.

Tigestu’s research work focuses on exploring consumer and health system factors influencing management of complex chronic conditions, mainly cardiovascular diseases and diabetes and development and evaluation of tailored and scalable strategies for managing these conditions. He has led projects involving a wide variety of methodologies, including mixed methods research, co-design, qualitative and quantitative research, including randomised controlled trials, and digital health. His PhD explored consumer and health system-related factors influencing the management of type 2 diabetes and developed a complex intervention for effective management of type 2 diabetes.

Following his PhD in 2023, he joined the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, where he enormously contributed to a hybrid type 2 implementing trial that evaluated the effectiveness of a digital health intervention on the treatment outcome of people with heart disease post hospital discharge in Australia. He has also contributed to global health research in India. He has also served as an Adjunct Research Fellow and academic Tutor at La Trobe University, Australia. He has produced publications in reputable journals and presented at national and international conferences. His work has impacted healthcare and had an impact on the field of noncommunicable diseases, particularly on cardiovascular disease and diabetes, to further understanding of health systems and facilitating the improvement of healthcare delivery in diverse settings. He has also mentored honours students and supervised undergraduate and Master’s students. He directed and taught several courses both in Australia and overseas (Ethiopia). He currently works on the NHMRC-funded Digital social prescribing program for people with cardiometabolic multimorbidity.