Annual Report 2020
Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law
Kenji Matsui, Tsunakuni Ikka, Waki Toya, Haruka Nakada, Yutori Takai, Akira Yanagibashi, Kaoru Tomioka, Hitomi Harada
Research activities
At the Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law, we investigate ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) and policies regarding medical practice including end-of-life issues, biomedical research, and public health, as well as studying research ethics education. The topics we are currently interested in include ELSI/policies regarding clinical research involving vulnerable people and patients with rare diseases, clinical trials of unproven drugs/devices, infectious diseases such as COVID-19, learning healthcare, and regenerative medicine. We are also developing education programs and materials for research ethics consultants.
Education
Through a grant by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), we provided open seminars for research ethics consultations. We had one post-doctoral fellow and two PhD students who were involved in our training course on research ethics and bioethics.
We also collaborated with the Research Ethics Section of the Japan Association for Bioethics, convening monthly a regular research conference on research ethics.
Future prospects
We will strength and expand our activities regarding research and human resources development through various, timely, and innovative ethical topics as well as legal, social, and political issues.
List of papers published in 2020
Journal
1. Suzuki H, Nakamura Y, Matsuo K, Imaeda N, Goto C, Narita A, Shimizu A, Takashima N, Matsui K, Miura K, Nakatochi M, Hishida A, Tamura T, Kadomatsu Y, Okada R, Nishida Y, Shimanoe C, Nishimoto D, Takezaki T, Oze I, Ito H, Ikezaki H, Murata M, Matsui D, Ozaki E, Mikami H, Nakamura Y, Suzuki S, Watanabe M, Arisawa K, Uemura H, Kuriki K, Momozawa Y, Kubo M, Kita Y, Takeuchi K, Wakai K. A genome-wide association study in Japanese identified one variant associated with a preference for a Japanese dietary pattern. Eur J Clin Nutr, 75:937-945, 2021
2. Yanagawa H, Chuma M, Takechi K, Yagi K, Sato Y, Kane C, Sakaguchi S, Doi K, Inoue Y, Matsui K. An educational workshop designed for research ethics consultants to educate investigators on ethical considerations. Int J Ethics Educ, 6:87-96, 2021
3. Suzuki T, Nakamura Y, Matsuo K, Oze I, Doi Y, Narita A, Shimizu A, Imaeda N, Goto C, Matsui K, Nakatochi M, Miura K, Takashima N, Kuriki K, Shimanoe C, Tanaka K, Ikezaki H, Murata M, Ibusuki R, Takezaki T, Koyanagi Y, Ito H, Matsui D, Koyama T, Mikami H, Nakamura Y, Suzuki S, Nishiyama T, Katsuura-Kamano S, Arisawa K, Takeuchi K, Tamura T, Okada R, Kubo Y, Momozawa Y, Kubo M, Kita Y, Wakai K. A genome-wide association study on fish consumption in a Japanese population-the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort study. Eur J Clin Nutr, 75:480-488, 2021
4. Matsui K, Ibuki T, Tashiro S, Nakamura H. Principles of ethical consideration required for clinical research involving children. Pediatr Int, 63:248-259, 2021
5. Nakada H, Folkers KM, Takashima K. Comparative Assessment of Non-trial Access to Investigational Medical Products in the U.S. and Japan. Ther Innov Regul Sci, 55:401-407, 2021
6. Takeuchi K, Naito M, Kawai S, Tsukamoto M, Kadomatsu Y, Kubo Y, Okada R, Nagayoshi M, Tamura T, Hishida A, Nakatochi M, Sasakabe T, Hashimoto S, Eguchi H, Momozawa Y, Ikezaki H, Murata M, Furusyo N, Tanaka K, Hara M, Nishida Y, Matsuo K, Ito H, Oze I, Mikami H, Nakamura Y, Kusakabe M, Takezaki T, Ibusuki R, Shimoshikiryo I, Suzuki S, Nishiyama T, Watanabe M, Koyama T, Ozaki E, Watanabe I, Kuriki K, Kita Y, Ueshima H, Matsui K, Arisawa K, Uemura H, Katsuura-Kamano S, Nakamura S, Narimatsu H, Hamajima N, Tanaka H, Wakai K. Study profile of the Japan Multi-institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) Study. J Epidemiol, 2020
7. Ibuki T, Yamamoto K, Matsui K. Differences in Conceptual Understanding of the "Actionability" of Incidental Findings and the Resultant Difference in Ethical Responsibility: An Empirical Study in Japan. AJOB Empir Bioeth, 11:187-194, 2020
8. Matsui K, Yamamoto K, Inoue Y. Professional Commitment to Ethical Discussions Needed From Epidemiologists in the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Epidemiol, 30:375-376, 2020
9. Nakada H, Inoue Y, Yamamoto K, Matsui K, Ikka T, Tashiro S. Public Attitudes Toward the Secondary Uses of Patient Records for Pharmaceutical Companies' Activities in Japan. Ther Innov Regul Sci, 54:701-708, 2020