My name is Kosuke Inoue, and as of August 1, 2025, I have been appointed Full Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Kyoto University.
After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 2013, I completed my junior residency program at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. I then worked at the Endocrinology and Diabetes Center at Yokohama Rosai Hospital where I primarily focused on endocrine and metabolic disorders such as primary aldosteronism under the guidance of Dr. Tetsuo Nishikawa. During my clinical experience, I developed a strong desire to deepen my ability to interpret and generate evidence. This aspiration led me to pursue a career in public health and epidemiology. From 2017 to 2021, I studied at the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where I conducted research under the supervision of Drs. Beate Ritz and Onyebuchi A. Arah, particularly focusing on causal inference. While I initially planned to complete a two-year master’s degree, I became increasingly interested in the depth of the field and decided to pursue a PhD, where I continued my research under the mentorship of Drs Ritz and Arah as well as Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, and further developed my expertise as an epidemiologist.
Upon returning to Japan in 2021, I joined the Department of Social Epidemiology at Kyoto University as an Assistant Professor, where I conducted research under the guidance of Dr. Naoki Kondo, focusing on the social determinants of health. During my time there, I was involved not only in research but also in administration and educational activities, obtaining valuable experience in multiple aspects of academic work. I also had the opportunity to maintain my clinical skills by participating in outpatient care in the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Nutrition, thanks to the kind support from Drs. Nobuya Inagaki and Daisuke Yabe. From April 2023, I served as an Associate Professor at the Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, and from July 2024, I engaged in a one-year international collaborative research project at Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Now, I am honored to return to Kyoto University to begin a new chapter in my career.
Throughout my work, I have aspired to be a “physician-epidemiologist” who bridges clinical medicine, basic science, and social science and medicine. Due to the rapid advancement of medicine and data science, the gap between these fields is widening. I believe that researchers who can connect these disciplines and foster mutual respect and collaboration across fields are becoming increasingly crucial. For example, in the field of epidemiology, the development of advanced statistical method, including machine learning, has enabled hypothesis generation regarding disease mechanisms and personalization of intervention effects using large-scale data. However, to ensure proper research design and interpretation, insights from clinical medicine and basic science are essential. Thus, I aim to promote integrative and practice-oriented public health and epidemiologic research through close collaboration among diverse fields and with constant attention to societal relevance.
Over the last several years, my research has focused on generating evidence for chronic diseases through the integrated application of causal inference and machine learning. In 2023, I have proposed a “high-benefit approach” that focuses on heterogeneous treatment effect, moving beyond traditional risk-based strategies. This precision medicine approach aims to identify individuals or subgroups who are likely to benefit most from interventions, given multi-dimensional individual characteristics. I am also pursuing research that incorporates insights from behavioral sciences to optimize interventions and address health disparities. Moreover, as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are numerous public health challenges where randomized controlled trials are difficult or infeasible, and where timely evidence is urgently needed. In such contexts, observational data and robust methods, particularly causal inference, are important. I will continue developing and applying epidemiologic methods to derive reliable evidence from complex real-world data.
Furthermore, by accelerating interdisciplinary integration and international collaboration, I hope to raise the global visibility of this field and contribute to the advancement of public health and epidemiology in Japan. Since joining Kyoto University in 2021, I have benefited from opportunities for multi-disciplinary engagement through programs like L-INSIGHT (mentored by Dr, Kazuwa Nakao) and the Hakubi Project. These experiences have deepened my appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration. For instance, some algorithms used to assess heterogeneous treatment effect originated in fields like economics rather than medicine, and integrating such perspectives can foster novel questions and research directions in healthcare. Developing a global perspective and building international networks are also essential for the future of public health and epidemiology. By fostering collaboration with researchers, policymakers, and practitioners both in Japan and internationally, I aim to contribute to creating a globally competitive research environment and to the training of the next generation of leaders in the field.
While there is much I aspire to accomplish, I remain deeply committed to building upon the foundation laid by my predecessor, Dr. Toshiaki Furukawa, and to contributing to the continued advancement of this field in support of better health for all. I sincerely appreciate your continued guidance and support in the years to come. Thank you very much.
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