Senait Ashenafi Betemariam

Associate Professor

Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Tel: +251940792618

Email: senashbet@gmail.com

VALIDATE Role:

Network Associate

Research Keywords:

Biography:

After I graduated from the medical school I worked as a medical doctor. Then I joined the Armauer Hansen research Institute, Ethiopia and worked as a researcher, my area of research was leishmaniasis and I got my master’s degree in immunology and biotechnology from University of Bergen, Norway. Afterwards, I joined a residency speciality training program in pathology at Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University and became a pathologist. At the same faculty I worked for 10 years as a pathologist as well as an associate professor of Pathology. I continued my training in immunology and got a PhD in immunology from Karolinska Institute, Sweden, my research area tuberculosis; I also worked as an assistant professor of immunology in the same institute. At present I work as an associate professor of pathology at College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia research areas tuberculosis and cancer research. I am also an affiliate at Karolinska Institute research area tuberculosis.

As a pathologist and an immunologist and having worked as a researcher both in Ethiopia and in Sweden, I have experience on how to do research in different environments. My research interests are immunomodulation and correlate of immunological protection in tuberculosis. As I am now a new group leader in the College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia I am keen to build collaborations and gain experience and expertise from other members of VALIDATE. I believe that to do good research and get good research output collaborations with others is mandatory.

Key Publications:

Vitamin D and phenylbutyrate supplementation does not modulate gut derived immune activation in HIV-1. Missailidis C, Sorensen N, Ashenafi S, Amogne W, Kassa E, Bekele A, Getachew M, Gebreselassie N, Assefa A, Aderaye G, Andersson J, Brighenti S, Bergman P. Nutrient, 2019. 11, 1675.

Daily Nutritional Supplementation with Vitamin D3 and Phenylbutyrate to Treatment-Naïve HIV Patients Tested in a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Ashenafi S, Amogne W, Kassa E, Gebreselassie N, Bekele A, Aseffa G, Getachew M, Aseffa A, Worku A, Hammar U, Bergman P, Aderaye G, Andersson J and Brighenti S. Nutrients. 2019, 11, 133.

Vitamin D3 Status and the Association with Human Cathelicidin Expression in Patients with Different Clinical Forms of Active Tuberculosis Senait Ashenafi , Jolanta Mazurek, Anders Rehn, Beede Lemma, Getachew Aderaye, Amsalu Bekele, Getachew Assefa, Menberework Chanyalew, Abraham Aseffa, Jan Andersson, Peter Bergman and Susanna Brighenti. Nutrients. 2018, 10,721.

Daily adjunctive therapy with vitamin D and phenylbutyrate supports clinical recovery from pulmonary tuberculosis: A randomized controlled trial in Ethiopia. Bekele A, Gebreselassie N, Ashenafi S, Kassa E, Aseffa G, Amogne W, Getachew M, Aseffa A, Worku A, Raqib R, Agerberth B, Hammar U, Bergman P, Aderaye G, Andersson J and Brighenti S. Journal of Internal Medicine. JIM September 2018, 284 (3): 292-306

Latent tuberculosis among adult Ethiopian patients at chest clinic, Tikur Anbessa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Bekele A, Ashenafi S, Aderaye G, Assefa G, Aseffa A, Andersson J and Brighenti S. Ethiopian Medical Journal, 2016, 54(4):181-188. PMID: 29115115

Progression of clinical tuberculosis is associated with a Th2 immune response signature in combination with elevated levels of SOCS3. Ashenafi S, Aderaye G, Bekele A, Zewdie M, Aseffa G, Nguyen A, Carow B, Habtamu M, Wijkander M, Rottenberg M, Aseffa A, Andersson J, Svensson M, Brighenti S. Clinical Immunology, 2014 Apr; 151(2):84-99. PMID: 24584041

BCG-specific IgG-secreting plasmablasts as a potential biomarker of active tuberculosis in HIV negative and HIV positive patients. Ashenafi S, Aderaye G, Zewdie M, Raqib R, Bekele A, Magalhaes I, Lema B, Habtamu M, Sultana R, Aseffa G, Maeurer M, Aseffa A, Svensson M, Andersson J, Brighenti S. Thorax, 2013 Mar; 68(3):269-76. PMID: 22923457

Genotyping of human papillomavirus in paraffin embedded cervical tissue smple from women in Ethiopia and the Sudan. Ebba Abate, Abraham Aseffa, Muntasir El-Tayeb, Ibrahim El-Hassan, Lawrence Yamuah, Wude Mihret, Liku Bekele, Senait Ashenafi, Nadia El-Dawi, Meseret Belayneh, Ahmed El-Hassan, Howard Engers. Journal of Medical Virology, 2013 Feb; 85(2):282-7.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells infiltrate the skin in positive tuberculin skin test indurations. Bond E, Liang F, Sandgren K, Smed-Sörensen A, Bergman P, Brighenti S, Adams W, Ashenafi S, Rangaka M, Lange C, Wilkinson R, Andersson J, Lore K. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2012 Jan; 132(1):114-23. PMID: 21850028.

Identification and genotyping of the etiological agent of tuberculosis lymphadenitis in Ethiopia. Demissew Beyene, Indra Bergval, Elena Hailu, Senait Ashenafi, Lawrence Yamuah, Abraham Aseffa, Herald G Wiker, Howard Engers, Paul Klatser, Lisbet Sviland. The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries, 2009 Jul 1; 3(6):412-9. PMID:19762953