Fitsum Tadesse appointed as visiting professor at Radboudumc

Malaria expert and professor Fitsum Tadesse is appointed as visiting professor at Radboud university medical center. He is internationally recognized for his exceptional ability to translate scientific research on malaria into impactful health policy.

His remarkable work has played a pivotal role in identifying malaria parasites that evade detection by standard rapid diagnostic tests. This research directly contributed to a recent policy shift in Ethiopia aimed at improving malaria diagnosis and patient care. In parallel, his studies formally demonstrated the public health threat posed by a newly invasive mosquito species in African cities. His findings have supported timely interventions to prevent disease outbreaks in urban areas across Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.

In the coming years, he will continue his research leadership at the Armauer Hansen Research Institute in Addis Ababa. In close collaboration with Radboudumc colleagues, among others Teun Bousema, he will focus on tackling biological threats to the control of the two malaria species responsible for nearly 10 million cases annually in Ethiopia.

Fitsum Tadesse holds degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology from institutions in Ethiopia, the Netherlands, and Norway. He earned his MSc in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease at Radboudumc in 2012 and completed his PhD cum laude in 2021. His contributions as an emerging research leader have been widely recognized, including the Rising Star Award from the Gates Foundation (2019), the Alan J. Magill Fellowship from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2022), and the Greenwood Africa Medal (2025).

For his societal impact, he received the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences Societal Impact Award in 2021 and has been invited to speak at the UK House of Commons and the United States Senate.

His work was highlighted in The New York Times in 2023 and in 2024.