Dr Eshetie Melese Birru
Postdoctoral Research Officer
Eshetie Melese Birru
Postdoctoral Research Officer
BPharm, MSc, PhD
eshetie.birru@thekids.org.au
https://linkedin.com/in/eshetie-melese-birru-123bb485Dr Eshetie Melese Birru is a pharmacist, pharmacologist and clinical pharmacology researcher working to improve how medicines are developed, delivered and used, particularly for infectious diseases. At The Kids Research Institute Australia, he works within the Penicillin Team on clinical and translational research evaluating long-acting anti-infective therapies, including new formulations and alternative ways of administering penicillin. His work brings together clinical trials, pharmacokinetics—the study of how medicines move through the body—population pharmacokinetic modelling, drug development and implementation research.
Eshetie has more than 15 years of combined experience in university teaching, research, academic leadership and biomedical research in Ethiopia and Australia. Before moving to Australia, he was a pharmacology academic and Head of Pharmacology at the University of Gondar, where he taught pharmacology and therapeutics across Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing and postgraduate programs and supervised student research.
His current research focuses on long-acting antibiotics, treatment optimisation and infectious-disease therapeutics, including rheumatic heart disease, syphilis and Group A Streptococcus. He has published widely in pharmacology and clinical research and contributes to multidisciplinary collaborations spanning hospitals, universities, laboratories, pharmaceutical scientists and contract research organisations.
Education and Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmacy – Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Curtin University, Australia, 2025
- Master of Science (MSc) in Pharmacology – University of Gondar, Ethiopia, 2013
- Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) – University of Gondar, Ethiopia, 2008
- Higher Diploma in Teaching Methods – University of Gondar, Ethiopia, 2018
- Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Certification, 2025
- ANZCCART ComPass Animal Welfare Training, 2025
Awards/Honours
- 2023 – Australian Pharmaceutical Science Association Conference Travel Grant
- 2020 – Best Researcher Award, University of Gondar
- 2019–2020 – Institutional recognition for successful community-service project implementation
- 2013 – Top-Scoring MSc Pharmacology Graduate
Active Collaborations
- The University of Western Australia Medical School – collaborative research in infectious diseases, clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington – Senior Collaborator, Global Burden of Disease Study
- Multidisciplinary long-acting anti-infective drug-development collaborations involving infectious-disease clinicians, pharmacologists, pharmaceutical scientists, analytical laboratories, hospitals, universities and contract research organisations