Dr. Tigist Bacha is currently an Associate Professor at Saint Paul Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She completed her medical education at Gonder University and pediatric residency at Addis Ababa University (AAU). She was selected to complete her pediatric emergency and pediatric critical care fellowships in collaboration and in partnership with AAU and the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine and Public Health. During her fellowship, Dr. Bacha received her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Gonder. Through the medical education program at AAU, she was chosen to participate in a research education program at John Hopkins University. In July 2020, Dr. Bacha completed a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care fellowship from the Hebrew University in Israel, while simultaneously achieving a pediatric bioethics educational opportunity from Children’s Mercy Kansas City.

Dr. Bacha’s dedication to improving pediatric acute care has been demonstrated as she was one of the first Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) physicians in Ethiopia. By collaborating with a Task Force, she led the development of an emergency medicine curriculum for Ethiopia, inclusive of an Emergency Residency, a master’s degree program in Emergency Critical Care, and a Paramedic pre-hospital training. In collaboration with a colleague, Dr. Bacha established the first Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Ethiopia and many PICUs since in cooperation with various medical institutes. For several years, she served as the leader of the Division of Pediatric Emergency and Critical Care at AAU. Dr. Tigist is currently the lead physician of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Saint Paul Millennium Medical College. She has been involved in collaborative research and quality improvement (QI) projects, including the establishment of the first-ever Procedural Sedation Clinic in Ethiopia. Her research and teaching endeavors have been recognized by receiving the Best Researcher Award from AAU, and in 2013 the Todels Gold Award, a national research award that distinguishes a young researcher. Dr. Tigist’s passion for teaching is evident as the recipient of the “Best Teacher Award” thirteen times throughout her career. She has also been involved with national and international efforts to educate healthcare providers in improving the emergency care of children throughout Africa. Her accomplishments include local, regional, national, and international public speaking opportunities to educate others in the care of children. Together with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Bacha helped develop many pre-hospital and hospital guidelines, created training manuals, and implemented several in-person, hands-on simulated training. Most recently, Dr. Tigist was nominated as a member of the Regional Advisory Board of the Research Network for Africa.