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Public Lecture: October 13, 2026 

One Question, Ten Years: From Clinical Observation to International Consensus

Hajime Yamazaki M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Kyoto Yniversity, Japan.

The most important aspect of clinical research is how to identify and develop a research question. In 2014, while performing endoscopic ultrasonography at a community hospital in northern Japan, I noticed fat accumulation within the pancreas—now termed intrapancreatic fat deposition (IPFD). This observation raised the question: What is the clinical significance of IPFD?

In this lecture, I will describe how this question grew over more than a decade through a variety of research methods and collaborations. To clarify the effects of IPFD on diabetes, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer, I have investigated this question using multiple approaches in imaging epidemiology, including CT-, MRI-, and PET-based image analysis; clinical data from tens of thousands of individuals; Mendelian randomization using genetic information; and AI-based analysis of large-scale medical imaging data. Building on this research, I played a key role in developing an international consensus on IPFD, published in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology in 2026. The consensus formally defined fatty pancreas disorder as a distinct pathological state characterized by excessive IPFD that poses a risk to health.

This lecture will illustrate how a feasible, novel, and clinically important research question can be nurtured over time.

Date: October 13, 2026
Time: 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Location: Core Science Facility, CSF-1302

About Dr. Yamazaki:

Dr. Hajime Yamazaki is an Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology/Community Medicine at Kyoto University, Japan. He is a gastroenterologist and clinical epidemiologist whose research focuses on fat distribution, inflammatory bowel diseases, and patient-reported outcomes. He has led numerous clinical studies in these areas and authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications.

He is actively engaged in international collaborative research investigating the clinical impact of intrapancreatic fat deposition (IPFD) on diabetes, pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer. He served on the Steering Committee for the Melbourne consensus, and international consensus on IPFD and fatty pancreas disorder, published in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology in 2026.

With a strong background in both gastroenterology and clinical epidemiology, he specializes in imaging epidemiology, integrating medical imaging, clinical data, and genetic information. He is also dedicated to advancing clinical research education and teaches clinical research at multiple universities in Japan and the United States.　In 2026, he was named an Excellence in Teaching honoree by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

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The Department of Computer Science engages in a wide variety of outreach activities on its own and in collaboration with various partner organizations.

The goals of these activities range from promoting awareness of computer science and career opportunities in the field to providing support for enrichment and curriculum based activity in schools.

A few of the programs we support with our time and expertise are:

• - A computer/software management package that was delveloped by the Systems Admin group of Computer Science
• St Bon's LabNet - Local school that is running the same computer/software management package that is the same as many labs on campus(ie The Commons)
• - St John's Orienteering Club: A local orienteering club that is organized by people from computer science and people outisde the university.
• Science Fair
• Shad Valley