Rahel M. Ketema, Ph.D. is a specially appointed assistant professor at Hokkaido University’s Faculty of Health Sciences in Japan. Her academic journey began with a bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry from Ethiopia, her country of origin. Subsequently, she gained professional experience as a quality controller across various industries, including the Coca-Cola Company, in Ethiopia before relocating to Japan to pursue higher education.

In Japan, she completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees at Hokkaido University’s Department of Health Sciences, specializing in biomonitoring environmental chemicals and their association with health outcomes. Her research concentrated on analyzing plastic-related endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) phthalates in children’s urine and investigating their potential links to oxidative stress biomarkers, asthma, and allergies using data from the Hokkaido birth cohort in Japan.

After obtaining her Ph.D., Rahel holds roles as a faculty member within the One Health Promotion Innovation Center at the Faculty of Health Sciences and a concurrent researcher at Hokkaido University’s Center for Environmental and Health Sciences (HU-CEHS). HU-CEHS has been designated as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre (CC) for Environmental Health and the Prevention of Chemical Hazards since April 2015, with subsequent redesignations in April 2019 and June 2023. In her capacity, she actively participates in fostering international collaboration, engaging with WHO and other WHO Collaborating Centres (WHOCCs), particularly within the Western Pacific Region, and co-investigating various projects under WHOCC. Rahel is an esteemed member of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, contributing to both its Asia and Africa chapters. She is also a member of the Japan Society of Hygiene.

Rachel’s Faculty page can be found here: https://www.hs.hokudai.ac.jp/e/archives/staff/2485/