Book Review: Dr. Tesfaye Biftu: “An Exemplar Of Expertise In Drug Discovery”
Review by: Animaw Anteneh, PhD, Professor, Addis Ababa University
Publisher: Beniam T. Biftu and Moa T. Biftu Printed in the USA, Middletown, USA, 2024 (by Amazon)
This book is a biography of an extraordinary Ethiopian American world-class scientist, Dr Tesfaye Biftu, who was born and brought up in a remote tiny village in the southwest of Ethiopia called Agaro. Biographies are not normally written of ordinary mortals, and this one is no exception.
To start with, Dr Tesfaye is one of the very few scientists who have so far secured over 100 international and USA patents for his pharmaceutical inventions – some individually and others in collaboration with fellow scientists. This is no less than a miracle, considering the fact that he received his early education in Ethiopia where modern education was in its infancy when he started school. And how did he manage to get such achievement in a world-famous pharmaceutical company in the USA as a black man? Reading the incredible stories of this genius will surely inspire those who come from humble backgrounds and make them realize that the sky is the limit for anyone with the determination to achieve their dreams.
This distinguished medicinal chemist is not just a genius spending all his time in the experimental laboratory, away from ordinary people. He is also a humble human with a kind heart. He had an exceptional attachment to his father, Biftu Diko, a.k.a Aba Fira Biftu, who takes much of the credit for what his son has achieved. Dr Tesfaye, on his part, had once put his life in harm’s way to secure the release of his father from an Ethiopian prison of one of the most dangerous dictatorships in history – the Derg! His commitment and courage is exemplary. This devotion to giving care and love to others has naturally been extended to his wife and children as well as the Ethiopian community in the USA. He has managed to spare his time for the cause of the community he lives in the USA and Ethiopia.
Dr Tesfaye is also the ideal role model to millions of Ethiopians in the way he understands what it means to be an Ethiopian. Incidentally, he and his beloved wife are both of mixed ethnic origin, and he convincingly argues that no Ethiopian can claim to be purely from this or that ethnic group since no one can tell for sure which other groups were involved in the creation of those who we believe have descended from this or that group.
This is a captivating reading to anyone with a human interest, but especially young people from less privileged parts of the world with big dreams and potential would benefit most from reading it. This is particularly true for young readers of African origin, and more specifically Ethiopians as they could easily identify with Dr Tesfaye. Ethiopians are really proud of people like him.
An Amharic version of this biography would even be more appropriate for the vast majority of the Ethiopians
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