Nara Prefecture General Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics provides opportunities of clinical research training from international researchers and students in a field of pediatrics, infectious diseases and epidemiology.
Trainees join the project at Nara Prefecture General Medical Center typically onsite, and trainees are encouraged to write scientific manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals with our research team based on skills of each trainee.
Application information can be found at
Ongoing research projects
-Evaluation of clinical impact of antimicrobials using a large-scale real-world database
-Evaluation of vaccine effectiveness and safety using a large-scale real-world database
-Evaluation of clinical impact of multiplex PCR test in pneumonia
-Evaluation of clinical impact of multiplex PCR test in gastrointestinal infection
-Diagnostic performance of rapid antigen tests among children with respiratory infection
-Clinical impact of rapid macrolide resistance gene detection in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae
-Pathogen specific disease burden assessment among children with infectious diseases
-Evaluation of caregiver’s incremental burdens with children with acute infectious diseases
-Vaccine hesitancy counseling for caregivers of children with unvaccinated or delayed vaccination status
-Surveys of knowledge, attitude and perception regarding maternal vaccinations
-Vaccine effectiveness evaluation using multiple PCR test data
-Vaccine safety evaluation using health-related quality of life questionnaire
-Validation of EuroQol Toddlers and Infant Population Instrument for Japanese Population
-Impact analysis of antiviral medication for influenza using a large-scale real-world database
-Effectiveness analysis of nirsevimab using a large-scale real-world database
-Population-based screening programs of infectious diseases in children
-Rapid macrolide-resistance gene detection for pertussis
-Comparative study for effectiveness and safety of live and inactivated influenza vaccinations
-Clinical outcome evaluations between Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis.
Staff physician for international trainees (Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases, and Epidemiology):
Taito Kitano, MD, DrPH, MPH, CIC, DTMH
Biography:
Medical degree at Nara Medical University, 2014
Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2018
Clinical Fellow at Hospital for Sick Children (Infectious Diseases), 2019-2021
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Infectious Disease Emergency Specialist program 2021-24
Coalition for Pandemic Preparedness and Innovations, Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, 2023-2024
Doctor of Public Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2024
Selected publications
Kitagawa D, Nishihara S, Murata M, Onishi M, Mori T, Hachisuka S, Okubo T, Yamamoto N, Nishikawa H, Onaka M, Suzuki R, Suzuki S, Yamamoto A, Uejima R, Nakamura F, Yoshida S, Kitano T. PCR sensitivity for Mycoplasma pneumoniae detection in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs: a comparative study. J Clin Microbiol. 2025 Jul 3:e0045825. doi: 10.1128/jcm.00458-25. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40608326.
Nishikawa H, Kitano T, Kitagawa D, Murata M, Onishi M, Mori T, Hachisuka S, Okubo T, Yamamoto N, Onaka M, Suzuki R, Sekine M, Suzuki S, Nakamura F, Yoshida S. Laboratory markers among children with respiratory tract infection using a multiplex PCR test. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025 Oct;113(2):116922. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2025.116922. Epub 2025 May 19. PMID: 40414104.
Kitano T, Motoki T, Onaka M, Murata M, Onishi M, Mori T, Hachisuka S, Okubo T, Yamamoto N, Nishikawa H, Suzuki R, Yoshida S. A questionnaire survey for Japanese parents on intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 and influenza. J Infect Chemother. 2025 Apr 1;31(5):102693. doi: 10.1016/j.jiac.2025.102693. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40180119.
Kitano T, Salmon DA, Dudley MZ, Saldanha IJ, Thompson DA, Engineer L. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health-State Utility Values for Infectious Diseases With Pandemic Potential and Associated Vaccine Adverse Reactions. Value Health. 2025 Mar 4:S1098-3015(25)00085-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2025.02.007. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40049326.
Onaka M, Kitano T, Yoshida S. Outbreak report of rotavirus gastroenteritis among remotely vaccinated travelers: A potential implication of booster vaccine for travelers to endemic countries. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2025 Dec;21(1):2467475. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2025.2467475. Epub 2025 Feb 26. PMID: 40008469; PMCID: PMC11866960.
Kitano T, Salmon DA, Dudley MZ, Saldanha IJ, Thompson DA, Engineer L. Age- and sex-stratified risks of myocarditis and pericarditis attributable to COVID-19 vaccination: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Epidemiol Rev. 2024 Dec 13:mxae007. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxae007. PMID: 39673764.
Hachisuka S, Kitano T, Kitagawa D, Murata M, Onishi M, Mori T, Okubo T, Yamamoto N, Nishikawa H, Onaka M, Suzuki R, Sekine M, Suzuki S, Nakamura F, Yoshida S. Association of respiratory infections with the incidence and treatment efficacy in Kawasaki disease. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025 Jan 13;111(3):116688. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2025.116688.
Mori T, Kitano T, Kitagawa D, Murata M, Onishi M, Hachisuka S, Okubo T, Yamamoto N, Nishikawa H, Onaka M, Suzuki R, Sekine M, Suzuki S, Nakamura F, Yoshida S. Risk of admission requirement among children with respiratory infection in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. J Infect Public Health. 2024 Dec;17(12):102570. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.102570. PMID: 39481292.
Kitano T, Kitagawa D, Murata M, Onishi M, Mori T, Hachisuka S, Okubo T, Yamamoto N, Nishikawa H, Onaka M, Suzuki R, Sekine M, Suzuki S, Nakamura F, Yoshida S. Duration of PCR positivity by type of respiratory virus among children using a multiplex PCR test. J Med Virol. 2024 Aug;96(8):e29890. doi: 10.1002/jmv.29890. PMID: 39188069.
Kitano T, Salmon DA, Dudley MZ, Thompson DA, Engineer L. Benefit-Risk Assessment of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Children Aged 6 Months to 4 Years in the Omicron Era. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2024 Feb 26;13(2):129-135. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piae002. PMID: 38236136
