Gemechu is a graduate of MPH in Field epidemiology in Ethiopia. He's very interested in conducting public health research, and FETP gave him the opportunity to pursue those interests and help communities solve public health problems.
Currently, He conducts surveillance and follows public health problems and trends in the community, investigate outbreaks and participate in its prevention and control, involves in the development of department work plan and guidelines, mentor FETP residents, reviews research protocols and trains health professionals.
Gemechu has previously conducted esophageal cancer research after receiving financial support from the TEPHINET/TFGH, including mentoring from senior cancer scientists working at NHI/NCI, USA, IARC/WHO and Addis Ababa University, School of Public Health. For that investigation, he revised and abstracted 4 years of medical records on each esophageal cancer patient attending the Tikur Anbessa Hospital in Addis Ababa between 2013 and 2019 which allowed him to describe the survival rate of esophageal cancer patients seeking care at this tertiary hospital. In addition, in the most recently identified newly diagnosed cancer patients a risk factor questionnaire was administered as well as in a group of matched controls from the same geographical area of residence as the cases, who were visited at their residence to complete the questionnaire. Now he has already concluded the analyses of these data and drafted three manuscripts for publication. In addition, he also developed key messages in local languages to create awareness of the community on the unhealthy feeding habit (too hot porridge, coffee, tea etc.) and well-established risk factors of EC. These messages will be displayed in health facilities in Oromia.
In the future he would like continue his professional career in epidemiology and wants to more closely examine the relationship between diseases (i.e., Cancer) with environment, nutrition, and genetic.

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