Hygienic Chemistry
Kazuyuki ISHII, Ph.D., Professor
Yuki OGASAWARA, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Etsuko OYAMA, Ph.D., Research Associate
The current focus in our laboratory examines the toxicity and biological responses to reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative stress is implicated in numerous disorders, and excessive ROS levels are recognized as a pathophysiological risk factor for living cells. The etiologic mechanisms associated with various diseases remain poorly understood. Moreover, human exposure to oxidants due to environmental pollution is a major public health concern requiring more thorough knowledge of the biological basis of oxidative damage. These investigations are being conducted by applying biochemical and molecular biological approaches.
Another research topic underway in our laboratory aims to elucidate possible health effects caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF), including static EMF, extremely low-frequency EMF, intermediate-frequency EMF and radio-frequency EMF. Present studies investigate the effects of intermediate-frequency EMF which is used for the induction cooking heaters that are increasing in popularity in Japanese homes.
Our hope is to gain a much broader and more comprehensive understanding of how these environmental hazards adversely affect public health.
