Taye Balcha, MD, PhD, MPH, is a former MP in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2010-2015) and former (2016-2018) Director General of Armauer Hansen Research Institute, a biomedical research facility for infectious disease located in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Prior to this, he served as Special Advisor and Head of Office to the State Minister of Health. He has also worked at various levels of leadership in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, including as Deputy Head of the Regional Health Bureau, researcher and clinician. Dr. Balcha obtained his PhD degree in Epidemiology from Lund University, Sweden, in 2015. He wrote his dissertation on improved methods of TB diagnosis among HIV-positive individuals. Dr. Balcha received a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the same university and a Doctoral Degree in Medicine from Addis Ababa University. He has led scores of important national initiatives including country ownership and leadership of HIV program and the establishment of Grand Challenges Ethiopia an initiative that aims to stimulate innovation that can catalyze improvement in the health sector and improve people’s daily lives. He has published in several peer-reviewed medical journals. His areas of interest include research in infectious diseases, maternal and child health and health and community systems, as well as health innovation and health biotechnology. Dr. Balcha is a reviewer for a dozen peer-reviewed journals and he is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Grand Challenges Canada, an organization that provides funding support to stimulate innovations that facilitate improvements in global health.
