Members

Kaori Muto

Her original background is sociology of medicine and family. Her research interests are ethical, legal and social implication of medical genomics and stem cell research. She has worked with advocacy groups of rare diseases such as Familial Amioloid Polineuropathy and Huntington's Disease. She also explores living liver donations and family values in Japan. She serves as a Director of the Office of Research Ethics at the IMSUT.

【Education】

Ph.D. International Community Health, Graduate School of International Health, The University of Tokyo (2002)
M.A. Division of Humanities, Keio University (1995)
B.A. Department of Humanities and Social Science, Keio University (1993)

【Professional Employment】

Team Director, Laboratory for Biomedical Ethics and Co-design, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Riken(2023-present)
Professor, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2013-present)
Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2007 )
Lecturer, Department of Health Sciences, Shinshu University (2002- 2007)
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Community Health, Brown University (2000-2002)
Research Associate, Health Care Science Institute (1997- 2000)

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Izen Ri

Her background is in medical sociology and bioethics. Her main interests include patient and family communication related to various kinds of medicine and medical investigation. She has participated in social science research into assisted reproductive technology (donor-conceived children), birth cohort studies, and hereditary diseases. Currently, she investigates the impact on our society of advances in genome analysis, ethical issues in research development of early-prediction and preventive interventions, as well as efforts to reflect the perspectives of patients and the public.

【Education】

Ph.D. Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo (2020)
M.A. Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo (2016)
B.A. Department of Sociology, Faculty of Letters, The University of Tokyo (2014)

【Professional Emplyment】

Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2024-present)
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2021-2023)
Project Research Fellow, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2019-2020)
Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (2016-2019)

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Akiko Nagai

She majored in Psychology at university, and she studied public health and epidemiology in graduate school. She studied specifically public attitudes toward genetic testing. She is also interested in science communication.

【Education】

Ph.D. - Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering University of Yamanashi (2009)

【Professional Emplyment】

Research Resident, Imperial Gift Foundation Boshi-Aiiku-Kai (2009 -2012)
Research Fellow, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2012 -)

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Yukitaka Kiya

Yukitaka Kiya has studied the experiences of patients and carriers of chronic illness and hereditary disease. In particular, he examined issues such as genetic risk, the disclosure caused, and the risk it poses for the next generation. In addition to continuing his previous research, he is interested in the development of medical research and policy.

【Education】

Ph.D. Graduate School of Sociology, Hosei University
M.A. Graduate School of Sociology, Hosei University
B.A. Department of International Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, Dokkyo University

【Employment】

Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2025 - present)
Project Research Fellow, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (2019 - 2025)

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Saori Watanabe

Saori Watanabe is a sociologist specializing in research on Rare Diseases and Medicine. The title of her Ph.D. thesis is "A Study on Rare Diseases Policy in Japan: Public Expenditure Medical Care by a Diseases-Category-Based Model." She has been pursuing a historical and sociological analysis of rare diseases policy in post-war Japan and other countries.
Currently, she also conducts qualitative and quantitative surveys on ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI ) of rare diseases: one on patient involvement in biomedical research based on genetic citizenship and the other on SES (socio-economic status) of patients with rare diseases.

【Education】

Ph.D. – Sociology, Meiji Gakuin University (2018)

【Employment】

2021.4–Present: Project Research Fellow, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
2018.4–2021.3: Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (PD), RCAST, The University of Tokyo
2015.4-2018.3: Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (DC1), Meiji Gakuin University

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Kimie Takeuchi

She aims to provide a pleasant working atmosphere to support others as they create effective research.

Kyoko Mimura

Kyoko is an academic support staff who is also working on her own research in gender analysis of medical technology. She is interested in how artefacts used in everyday life or in medical practices are developed and used with certain political intentions/assumptions and how these may become exhibited in the practice.

【Favourites】

Bouldering, Capoeira, Music

【Education】

M.A. Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology
B.Sc. History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science, Department of Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Mathematical & Physical Sciences, University College London

Junichi Kawata

Junichi Kawata is a medical sociologist researching cancer survivorship. He has been conducting research on the issues of life after cancer and the identities constructed while living with cancer. He is the vice president of the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patient’s Association and is interested in the social interaction between medical research and policy as well as the patients who participate in it.

【Education】

Mh.Sc., Human science, Taisho University.
Bh.Sc., Human Life and Environment Studies, Taisho University.

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Chihiro Nishi

NISHI Chihiro's specialization is Science, Technology and Society (STS). She studies especially for the social responsibility of scientists, ELSI and Responsible Research and Innovation(RRI). When she was an undergraduate student and master's course student, she had majored in molecular biology. She wrote the MA thesis with the keyword “RNA”, and “origin of life”. In PhD course, she investigated education of ELSI and RRI in the molecular biology field. Currently, she is conducting research in public health, utilizing her knowledge of molecular biology and the social responsibility of scientists.

【Education】

Ph. D. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo (2024)
M. A. Graduate School of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science(2018)
B. A. The Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science(2016)

【Employment】

2025.4–Present: Project Research Fellow, Department of Public Policy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo
2024.4-2025.3: Assistant Professor, Center for Learning Support and Faculty Development, Doshisha University

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Hiroshi Iida

He is conducting research on ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that arise from the spread of genetic information in society due to the progress of genomic medicine, with a particular focus on the fields of life insurance and labor. He endeavors to make his 28 years experience at foreign insurance company useful to his research.

【Education】

Ph.D. Graduate School of Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo (2023)
M.A. Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo (2019)

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Miku Shimasaki

Since 2023, she has enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Muto Lab.
She completed her undergraduate nursing studies and obtained a registered nurse license.
Following that, she pursued graduate studies, motivated by a keen interest in addressing medical issues faced by women and individuals considered to be minorities in society.
At the Muto Lab, she is expanding her knowledge and advancing her research, building on the valuable experiences she gains through her work.

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Kaori Kawai

Her research focuses on genetic risk as well as marriage and childbearing decisions. For her master's thesis, She conducted a qualitative study on individuals with Huntington's disease, an autosomal dominant genetic disorder, and their supportive health care providers.

【Biography】

Graduated from Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, Faculty of Foreign Languages.
M.A. (Interdisciplinary Information Studies), Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo.
Present: Enrolled in the doctoral program at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo.

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Ryoko Matsuyama

2022: B.A. in International Liberal Studies at the School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University
Present: Enrolled in a Master’s Program at the Biomedical Innovation Policy Group, Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo

She has enrolled in a master's program at Muto Lab last year, and being a part of this lab has been an exciting and enriching experience. She endeavors to remain fully engaged in her research and has a fulfilling graduate student life.

Ayako Murakami

She has enrolled in a master's program at Muto Laboratory since 2024. Her research is concerned with medical decision-making support for older adults without family.

【Education】

M.A. student, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo
M.A. in Graduate School of Art and Letters, Tohoku University

Xizheng Fang（Jisei Hou）

Since April 2025, he has been enrolled in the Master’s program at Muto Laboratory.
As an undergraduate, he conducted research focusing on cases of coming out by non-heterosexual individuals to their families in East Asia, particularly in China.
Building on this foundation, he has developed his interest in conversion therapy imposed by families after coming out, and aims to explore healthcare issues surrounding sexual minorities from the perspective of sexuality studies.
Through extensive learning in the Muto Laboratory, he aspires to become a researcher in this field in the future.

【Education】

・B.A. School of Japanese Studies, Dalian University of Foreign Languages. (2023)
・B.A. School of Asia 21, Kokushikan University. (2023) (Double Degree Program)
・Foreign Research Student. Advanced Social and International Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo. (2023.10~2025.3)
・Present: Enrolled in the Master’s program at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo.