Department of Clinical Medicine
Our research interests are tropical infectious diseases, respiratory infectious diseases including TB, and HIV/AIDS. We conduct a wide range of studies from basic research with animal models to clinical epidemiology research in and outside Japan. Specific research activities are described as follows:
Members
- Professor Koya Ariyoshi
- Professor Michio Yasunami
- Associate Professor Konosuke Morimoto
- Assistant Professor Hikaru Sato
- Assistant Professor Motoi Suzuki
- Research Associate Kiwao Watanabe
- Visiting Professor Tomoyuki Maekawa
- Visiting Professor Toshiyuki Miura
- COE Research Fellow Naho Tsuchiya
- COE Research Assistant Masahiko Mori
- Visiting Researcher Akiko Takaki
- Visiting Researcher Louie Mar Gangcuangco
- Assistant Mitsuyo Kirie
- Assistant Rina Shiramizu
- Assistant Rika Nogawa
- Assistant Sayaka Okada
- Assistant Yumi Hamasaki
- Assistant Hitomi Nakamura
- Research Student Mayumi Terada
- Research Student Yoshitaka Harada
- Research Student Masahiro Takaki
- Research Student Kei Matsuki
- Graduate student Yoshiro Yamashita
- Graduate student Tohru Ogasawara
- Graduate student Sugihiro Hamaguchi
- Graduate student Kensuke Takahashi
- Graduate student Reiko Miyahara
- Graduate student Le Nhat Minh
- Graduate student Dhoubhadel Bhim Gopal
- Graduate student Nobuo Saito
- Graduate student Takaharu Shimazaki
- Graduate student Ikumi Shimada
- Graduate student Satoshi Kakiuchi
- Graduate student Tomoko Ishifuji
- Graduate student Hirotomo Yamanashi
Activities
Respiratory Infections
Our goal is to better-understand mechanisms causing severe and treatment-refractory pneumonias at molecular levels toward development of a novel treatment strategy. We hypothesize that an impaired process in inducing the cessation of inflammation and re-construction of damaged tissues plays a central role in the pathogenesis of pneumonia. Our interest focuses on macrophage function, which is responsible for clearing apoptotic cells from the inflammation site. We have also developed molecular assays to identify multiple pathogens causing respiratory infections and to quantify pneumococcus bacterial load. These novel assyas are now being applied for several clinical studies. Furthermore we are now developing a novel assay to evaluate cellular immune responses to TB antigens.
Pediatric Infectious Diseases in Vietnam
We have conducted studies regarding to clinical and microbiological diagnosis, antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular epidemiology in collaboration with National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Hanoi, Vietnam. Since 2005, we started a large-scale of community-based survey targeting all residents in Nha Trang city and its adjacent Nin Hoa district in the Central Vietnam. During the survey, we collected information regarding environment and common diseases burden (pneumonia, diarrhea, dengue fever), health utilization pattern. Since 2006, we have dispatched a research clinician to the site and have been monitoring all pneumonia cases admitted to the pediatric ward at Kan Hoa General Hospital. In 2009, we commenced a birth cohort study, recruiting 2,000 pairs of mothers and new-born babies, with the objective of facilitating mother-to-child transmission studies of various infections and studies of host-gene polymorphisms associating the severity of pediatric infectious diseases.
HIV Cohort Studies in Northern Thailand
In collaboration with National Institute of Health, Thailand and National Institute of Infectious diseases, Japan, a large scale of cohort study targeting HIV-infected individuals and their spouses has been established and maintained in Lampang Hospital, northern Thailand; nearly 2000 people have participated. The main objectives of this cohort are to understand mechanisms of resistance to HIV infection among HIV-exposed but uninfected spouses living with HIV-infected patients and mechanisms of slow-progression among HIV-infected slowprogressors. These studies are being conducted in close collaboration with Thai counter parts and international experts in various fields such as hostgene polymorphisms, molecular immunology, molecular epidemiology and virology. Furthermore, we are conducting studies on frequencies of opportunistic infection, the effect of anti-retroviral drug therapy and the effect of other viral co-infectiou such as GBV, hepatitis B.
Other Infectious Disease Research in the tropics
In collaboration with San Lazaro Hospital, Manila, the Philippines, we have started research on leptospirosis, central nervous system infection, tuberculosis. In collaboration with the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bac Mai Hospital, Hanoi, Veitnam, we are conducting clinical epidemiology studies concerning undiagnosed febrile illness.
