Jin Higashijima

I am working on research both theory and practice to improve the relationship between researchers/scientists, patients, and the public in the biomedical sciences. In doing so, I am considering what the responsibilities of researchers/scientists are, what needs to be changed in the existing system, and what kind of mechanism is desirable and feasible. I believe that if the process of research and development in Japan includes a system that examines the perspectives and values of various people, especially patients and the public, it will produce better results for the members of society and for research, but I am still considering this.

1) Patient engagement/ Patient and public involvement in Japan:  As one such initiative, I believe that the Patient and Public Involvement mechanism that we have proposed, together with a variety of people, based on efforts in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries, is a major step toward improving the relationship between biomedical science research and society in Japan.

As a case study, I and my colleagues are attempting to generate constructive and meaningful dialogue about research and development between researchers/scientists and diverse people, especially those involved in diseases in the broadest sense, with a particular focus on autism spectrum disorders and regenerative medicine.

2) Responsible conduct of research, Research integrity, Research Ethics: I am also involved in education and research on research ethics/research integrity. For example, I was engaged in a project to create a large scale research fairness/ethics elearning material, which is now a part of the Japanese research community. Later, with collaborators, I conducted a research project on responsible research. Based on the results of those projects, we have been working together for the past few years on a project that focuses specifically on Research Climate and research integrity standards.

If you are interested, please visit the websites of the following two projects!

- Research on effective utilization of a questionnaire survey to promote research integrity
https://research-integrity.info/2019amed-en/

- Clarification of research integrity norms in diverse research disciplines
https://research-integrity.info/2021ristex-en/