Amare Gessesse is an Associate Professor of microbial biotechnology at Addis Ababa University. He played a leading role in the establishment of the first biotechnology graduate training program at AAU that later evolved into the current Institute of Biotechnology. He also worked with other universities in Ethiopia contributing to the development of biotechnology training and research programs. He is a founding member of the Biological Society of Ethiopia. He is the recipient of several research grants from local and international funding agencies, has broad research collaboration with local and international scientists, and published extensively.