I am Yukiko Mori, and as of May 1, 2026, I have been appointed Professor at the Center for Digital Transformation of Healthcare, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University. On the occasion of assuming this position, I would like to extend my heartfelt greetings.
My career as a physician began in surgery. After graduating from Shiga University of Medical Science in 1998, I joined the Department of Surgery at Kyoto University and engaged in clinical practice at Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki Hospital (now Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki General Medical Center), Kyoto University Hospital, and Takatsuki Red Cross Hospital. In 2003, I entered the doctoral program at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, where I obtained my degree under the guidance of Professor Masayuki Imamura and Professor Yoshiharu Sakai. Following my graduation, while treating many cancer patients, I became acutely aware of the importance of perioperative chemotherapy and drug therapy for unresectable cases. This led me to pursue a career as a medical oncologist in departments such as Outpatient Oncology Unit, Therapeutic Oncology, and Medical Oncology. Subsequently, through my involvement in clinical trials and investigations to create medical evidence, I developed a new research focus: “To what extent has established standard care been disseminated and standardized nationwide?” A major turning point in addressing this question was when Professor Manabu Muto introduced me to the NDB (National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan).
The NDB is an exceptionally comprehensive database that covers almost all health insurance claim information in Japan. At that time, data provision to researchers was still in its early stages, but I was given the opportunity to conduct a survey on the actual status of treatment for gastric cancer patients using NDB data. Through this analysis, I was able to gain persuasive insights unique to nationwide Real-World Data (RWD), such as disparities in treatment choices based on regional differences and the scale of medical institutions.
On the other hand, I also faced significant challenges in data analysis. At the time, handling NDB data was extremely difficult, requiring not only medical knowledge but also advanced informatics approaches. I was able to proceed with my research thanks to the extensive assistance of Dr. Kazuya Okamoto of the Department of Medical Informatics. Through this experience, I recognized the necessity of “developing an environment where beneficial data can be effectively utilized by everyone” and the importance of “organic collaboration between medicine and other fields.” I began to believe that by supporting researchers as an experienced practitioner, I could contribute to the advancement of RWD research in Japan.
Starting in 2016, I served a two-year secondment to the Health Insurance Data Planning Office (then the Office for Advancement of Insurance Systems) within the Health Insurance Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). At the MHLW, I was involved in both practical operations and institutional design, including user support for the NDB On-site Research Centers and NDB Open Data, as well as examining linkage methods for various public databases and the Healthcare Intelligence Cloud (HIC) analysis platform.
Upon returning to Kyoto University in 2018, I worked on developing codebooks to serve as dictionaries for various public databases and creating practice datasets to promote data utilization from a researcher’s perspective. Furthermore, under Professor Tomohiro Kuroda of the Department of Medical Informatics, I was involved in the “Kansai Union/Kyoto University Education Program for Digital Health Innovation (KUEP-DHI),” focusing on training personnel who can correctly generate, manage, and utilize data in anticipation of the Next-Generation Medical Infrastructure Act and the operation of healthcare data platforms. Through this initiative, which targeted students from both the Graduate School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Informatics, I once again felt the necessity and benefits of data utilization through multi-disciplinary collaboration.
Currently, while the utilization of RWD is accelerating across society, significant hurdles remain, such as the regulation of data use, the preparation of analysis environments, and the development of analytical methods.
I believe my roles at the Center for Digital Transformation of Healthcare are as follows:
Establishing a safe and convenient data utilization environment for various RWD, including data from the Next-Generation Medical Infrastructure Act.
Providing comprehensive research support, from data management in compliance with regulations to technical support in research planning and implementation.
Developing a robust educational environment and promoting the practice of Open Science.
Strengthening industry-government-academia collaboration as a venue for joint research and development with other universities, corporations, and administrative agencies.
Through these efforts, I aim to realize “seamless support” and a “circular research cycle” for researchers.
I am committed to making every effort to ensure that this Center becomes a hub for RWD research and contributes to the expansion of the university’s internationally pre-eminent research. I believe that RWD research is a field that evolves through the collaboration of multiple academic disciplines. I look forward to your continued guidance and support.
AloJapan.com