Megumi Hara Associate Professor

Research overview

The aim is to realize a happy society through epidemiological studies on disease prevention and health promotion Disease prevention through epidemiological studies
Health is the most important factor in supporting the era of 100-year lifespans. In order to contribute to the realization of a happy society, I am continuing my research in two major thrust areas, namely, health promotion and disease prevention.

■ Genome cohort study
Since 2005, we have been conducting a genome cohort study of about 12,000 citizens of Saga city (40 to 69 years old at the start of the study). This is a part of a joint study involving more than 10 research institutions all over Japan, with 100,000 participants. This study is still ongoing and we conduct health status surveys once every five years. We aim at finding clues about preventive measures for lifestyle diseases according to the constitution of the individuals by clarifying how genomic information, blood and urine biomarkers, and physical activity information collected from the citizens are associated with the onset of cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes. At the same time, we are also conducting research aimed at finding anti-aging and healthy aging effects, focusing on antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and gene repair. Based on the knowledge gained from this research, we also provide guidance on stopping smoking and appropriate diet.

■ Disease prevention with vaccine
Vaccines are attracting attention due to the global pandemic of novel coronavirus infections. What we are doing is to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, cost-effectiveness, vaccination hesitancy, etc. of developed and/or approved vaccines (for novel coronavirus, influenza, pertussis, rotavirus, HPV, mumps, etc.), and utilize them for disease prevention and formulation of vaccination policies. In an increasingly globalized society, new threats of infectious diseases are likely to occur in the future also, and vaccine-based prevention would become even more important, I believe.

In the future, we would like to build up evidence for disease prevention and health promotion through these two studies and propose preventive methods that are useful in the real world. Collaborative research with scientists in the fields of behavioral economics, psychology, and communication is also necessary to convey the information correctly. In addition, we will aim at giving back to the society the fruits of research conducted so far, in the form of easy to understand methods and more user-friendly systems, by expanding our vision to include wearable devices that can be worn on the arms and wrists, and IT devices, as a means to promote changes in individual behavior.