Rethy Chhem is a medical doctor, biomedical scientist, science diplomat, historian of medicine and educationalist with extended experience in development policy, global health and Asian higher education.
He has been a professor of radiology for 30 years teaching in Canada, Singapore, Austria and Japan. From 2008 to 2014, Dr. Chhem served as the director of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Dr. Chhem holds a medical degree and a doctorate in education, as well as a doctorate in history. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and edited 17 textbooks on education, radiology, radiation sciences and science technology studies including two on the Fukushima nuclear accident. He is currently a distinguished visiting professor at Fukushima Medical University and at the Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University.
Dr. Chhem is currently the executive director of the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), a leading think tank in Cambodia and the ASEAN region. CDRI is a founding member of the Silk Road Global Think Tank Network. Dr. Chhem is a cofounder of the China Studies Center at CDRI. He is also a member of the advisory board of UNESCO’s International Center for Higher Education Innovation at the Southern University of Science and Technology in China.
