Aya Goto is an Associate Professor of Public Health at Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine and a Takemi Fellow 2012-2013 at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Goto’s main research interests are prevention of unintended pregnancy and parenting support. Her translational research in the past 15 years has been conducted in tight collaboration with local communities in Fukushima and Ho Chi Minh City and is combined with the capacity building of local health care professionals in maternal and child health care, as well as epidemiology. Her projects bridge science and local communities, as well as developing and developed countries in Asia.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Dr. Goto has been working closely with public health nurses in Fukushima city, with a relatively high radiation level, to discuss suitable activities for responding to concerns among parents of small children. She also manages parenting support services provided based on epidemiological data collected from the Fukushima Health Management Survey, which was launched after the disaster to monitor health status of all residents in Fukushima prefecture.

Dr. Goto’s dedication to the local professional community is reflected in her work as a board member of the Fukushima Physicians’ Network. She annually collects and analyzes epidemiological data from local physicians’ working environments, from which she drafts recommendations to improve their work-life balance.

Education

M.D., 1995, Yamagata University, Japan

M.P.H., 1998, Harvard School of Public Health (International Health)

Ph.D., 2000, Yamagata University (Public Health)

Awards