Rafael Ruiz De Castañeda

Rafael Ruiz De Castañeda is a Researcher and Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, leading the One Health Unit in collaboration with Dr. Isabelle Bolon. His work focuses on interdisciplinary global health challenges, including emerging infectious diseases, zoonotic pathogens, and conservation biology. He has extensive field experience in Africa and Latin America, coordinating projects like the EU-funded Africa Build and RAFT Network. He is also a key figure in global health education, developing MOOCs such as the Coursera course on Global Health at the Human-Animal-Ecosystem Interface.

His research integrates ecological, veterinary, and human health perspectives, emphasizing snakebite envenoming epidemiology, AI-driven species identification, and planetary health. He collaborates globally with institutions like Institut Pasteur and the Geneva Science Policy Interface. Key contributions include policy briefs on humanitarian action in planetary crises and frameworks for One Health diplomacy.

Recent publications highlight transdisciplinary approaches to snakebite prevention, geospatial modeling of health risks, and leveraging AI for wildlife health surveillance. His work bridges academia, policy, and community engagement to address systemic health challenges at the human-animal-environment nexus.