Dr. Tesfay is an Instructor in the Experimental Pathology Division. Dr. Tesfay earned his undergraduate degree at Alemaya University in Ethiopia, a Masters degree in Molecular Biology at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, Masters in Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University, and then his doctorate in Microbiology and Immunology at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and at UAMS. He has further experience as a senior scientist at Imanis Life Sciences.
Dr. Tesfay’s research interests include translational Immunovirotherapy for patients with advanced hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) cancers and addressing health disparities in cancer therapy and research.
As a Co-Investigator on an AACR grant, Dr. Tesfay is working to develop virotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer. He has received travel awards from the NIH, NIDDK, and American Society for Virology. He is a member of the Africa HepatoPancreatoBiliary Cancer Consortium, NIDDK Network of Minority Health Research Investigators, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT).