Sumiyo OKAWA, Ph.D.

AREA OF EXPERTISE

Maternal Newborn and Child Health
Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) health
Quality of Care
Implementation Science
Cancer Control

MESSAGE

I would like to contribute to generating evidence for making policies that enable people to receive the medical and healthcare services they need in countries around the world, by making use of my past experience in various field research in Asia and Africa and cancer control activities in Osaka, Japan.

NARRATIVE CV

Sumiyo OKAWA (RN, MSc, PhD) has over 15 years of research and technical support experience in maternal newborn, child, and adolescent health, HIV, and non-communicable diseases (including cancer) control in Asia and African countries. Positions held include Senior Research Fellow in the Japan Institute for Health Security, Biostatistician in the Osaka International Cancer Institute, Research Fellow in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Project Researcher in the University of Tokyo. She obtained an MSc and a PhD in International Health at the University of Tokyo. Furthermore, she has been serving as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline Review Committee since 2023. She has published 98 original research articles to date, including 27 as first or co-first author (as of October 2025).

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Curriculum Vitae (Detailed)

Sumiyo Okawa, RN, PhD

Japanese researcher specializing in global health. She has conducted research in maternal and newborn health, HIV, non-communicable diseases, and implementation research under a technical cooperation project in low- and middle-income countries, such as Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Career

2002 - 2007	Nurse, Toranomon Hospital
2014 - 2016	Project Researcher, Department of Community and Global Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
2016 - 2017	Research Fellow, Takemi Program in International Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2018 - 2021	Biostatistician, Cancer Control Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute
2021 - present	Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Global Health Policy Research, Bureau of Global Health Cooperation, Japan Institute for Health Security

Education

1998 - 2002	Graduated from Osaka Prefecture College of Nursing
2008 - 2010	Completed Master's program, Department of Community and Global Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo: Master in International Health
2010 - 2013	Completed Doctor program, Department of Community and Global Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo: PhD in International Health

Research Activities

2020 – present	Visiting Scientist, Division of International Health Policy Research, Institute for Cancer Control, National Cancer Center
2023 – present	Guideline Review Committee, World Health Organization

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. Okawa S, Iso H, Yokobori Y, Hachiya M, Nguyen CQ, Pham TTP, Phan DC, Do HT, Mizoue T, Inoue Y. Associations Between Alcohol Consumption and Cigarette Smoking and Insulin Secretion and Resistance in Vietnamese Men Without a History of Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Diabetes Res. 2025 Sep 24;2025:1068375. doi: 10.1155/jdr/1068375.
2. Okawa S, Nanishi K, Iso H, Tabuchi T. Association between cigarette and heated tobacco use and breastfeeding cessation within 6 months postpartum in Japan: an internet-based cross-sectional study. Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 25;14(1):29214. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-78423-1.
3. Okawa S, Tabuchi T, Nakata K, Morishima T, Koyama S, Odani S, Miyashiro I. Surgical volume threshold to improve 3-year survival in designated cancer care hospitals in 2004-2012 in Japan. Cancer Sci. 2022 Mar;113(3):1047-1056. doi: 10.1111/cas.15264.
4. Okawa S, Gyapong M, Leslie H, Shibanuma A, Kikuchi K, Yeji F, Tawiah C, Addei S, Nanishi K, Oduro AR, Owusu-Agyei S, Ansah E, Asare GQ, Yasuoka J, Hodgson A, Jimba M; Ghana EMBRACE Implementation Research Project Team. Effect of continuum-of-care intervention package on improving contacts and quality of maternal and newborn healthcare in Ghana: a cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2019 Sep 11;9(9):e025347. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025347.
5. Okawa S, Win HH, Leslie HH, Nanishi K, Shibanuma A, Aye PP, Jimba M. Quality gap in maternal and newborn healthcare: a cross-sectional study in Myanmar. BMJ Glob Health. 2019 Mar 19;4(2):e001078. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001078.
6. Okawa S, Mwanza-Kabaghe S, Mwiya M, Kikuchi K, Jimba M, Kankasa C, Ishikawa N. Sexual and reproductive health behavior and unmet needs among a sample of adolescents living with HIV in Zambia: a cross-sectional study. Reprod Health. 2018 Mar 27;15(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s12978-018-0493-8.
7. Okawa S, Chirwa M, Ishikawa N, Kapyata H, Msiska CY, Syakantu G, Miyano S, Komada K, Jimba M, Yasuoka J. Longitudinal adherence to antiretroviral drugs for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zambia. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2015 Oct 12;15:258. doi: 10.1186/s12884-015-0697-7.
8. Okawa S, Yasuoka J, Ishikawa N, Poudel KC, Ragi A, Jimba M. Perceived social support and the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans in urban Kenya. AIDS Care. 2011 Sep;23(9):1177-85. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2011.554530. Epub 2011 May 24.

Details are as follows;
【 researchmap 】