Engida was born and raised in Zeway, Ethiopia. He attended Addis Ababa University (AAU) for his Doctor of Medicine degree and specialty certificate in Psychiatry. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and a newly admitted Ph.D. candidate in Mental Health Epidemiology at AAU. Engida’s main research involvement has been leading an innovative project aimed at integrating mental and reproductive health in refugee settings in Ethiopia. He is currently examining the psychometric properties of the Life Events Checklist–5 in Ethiopia. He plans to study the construct, epidemiology, medical and psychiatric outcomes, and trans-generational impacts of adverse childhood experiences in Ethiopia and deepen his investigation into exploring interpersonal neurobiology, genetics and epigenetic basis of psychological trauma and its sequelae. In addition to general psychiatry, Engida teaches trauma and dissociative disorders to medical students and residents. His clinical practice focuses on people with trauma, stress, and dissociation. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading and spending time with his wife and children.
I witnessed mental illness hijack the lives of many friends when I was in medical school. In clinical encounters, I realized how difficult being the caretaker of a patient with psychiatric conditions could be. I saw a middle-aged woman crying for her mother with dementia and a fearful mother weeping for her child with a neuro-developmental disorder. These were the instances that made me decide to join psychiatry.