Associate Professor Gizachew Tessema is a perinatal and reproductive epidemiologist whose work seeks to improve maternal, perinatal, and reproductive health outcomes through epidemiological research. His expertise spans advanced statistical modelling, mixed-methods research, and qualitative inquiry, with a strong focus on generating evidence to inform policy and practice. He completed his PhD at the University of Adelaide in 2018, receiving the Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence. In 2020, he was awarded the Gro Harlem Brundtland Visiting Fellowship at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and subsequently served as a Visiting Scientist at the Centre for Fertility and Health, NIPH, Norway. He has received several honours recognising his contributions to research leadership, including the WA Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2022), STEM Early Career Researcher of the Year at Curtin University (2022), the enAble Institute Early and Mid-Career Researcher of the Year Award, the Faculty of Health Sciences Early Career Researcher of the Year Award (2022), and a Commendation for Excellence in Postgraduate Research Supervision (2022). He also recieved NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and recipient of the Raine Medical Research Foundation Charter Hall Research Collaboration Award (2020). He has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles, including first- or senior-author papers in The Lancet Global Health, PLoS Medicine, eClinicalMedicine, JAMA Network Open, BMJ Global Health, Environment International, and Social Science and Medicine. He has also contributed to several co-authored publications in The Lancet and JAMA Oncology.

Associate Professor Tessema teaches and coordinates postgraduate unit (Epidemiology and Evidence) within the School of Population Health. He also supervises higher degree by research candidates and mentors early- and mid-career researchers. His work aims to advance child health and development and support strategies that improve the health of children and families in Australia and internationally.