Ryunosuke "Ryan" Goto, MD（後藤 隆之介）
Pediatrician-scientist
I am a PhD student at Stanford's Biomedical Data Science program and a Knight-Hennessy Scholar. Previously, I was a Chief Resident in Pediatrics at Nagano Children's Hospital and the University of Tokyo Hospital, as well as a Research Fellow at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Medicine. After receiving primary and secondary education in the United Kingdom and the United States, I received my M.D. from the University of Tokyo in 2019. I am interested in leveraging machine learning and causal inference tools to investigate how genetic and environmental factors shape human health and disease. My work has been published in The Lancet, JAMA Pediatrics, and Pediatrics, among other journals.
Research (selected publications)
One branch of my work uses causal inference and machine learning to investigate human health and advance precision medicine.
Polygenic risk scores for precision psychiatry: a study on the effect heterogeneity of antidepressants. Ryunosuke Goto, Tatsuhiko Naito, Norbert Skokauskas, Kosuke Inoue. medRxiv Preprint, 2024.
We used All of Us data to explore the utility of polygenic risk scores of psychiatric diseases in predicting response to antidepressants.
Machine Learning Detects Heterogeneous Effects of Medicaid Coverage on Depression. Ryunosuke Goto, Kosuke Inoue, Itsuki Osawa, Katherine Baicker, Scott L. Fleming, Yusuke Tsugawa. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2024. [Short description]
We used the machine learning causal forest model to explore factors associated with heterogeneous effects of Medicaid coverage on decreasing depression prevalence.
Another branch of my work focuses on how social and environmental factors affect human health and behavior. In particular, I have done extensive research on factors such as trauma, socioeconomic status, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they affect human health.
War is a Public Health Emergency. Ryunosuke Goto, Anthony P. S. Guerrero, Mario Speranza, Daniel Fung, Campbell Paul, Norbert Skokauskas. The Lancet, 2022.
We discuss the consequences of war on children, with a focus on the long-lasting effects on their development and mental health.
Adolescents of Ukraine during the Russian Invasion (AUDRI) Project.
Ryunosuke Goto, Irina Pinchu, Oleksiy Kolodezhny, Nataliia Pimenova, Yukiko Kano, Norbert Skokauskas. Mental Health of Adolescents Exposed to the War in Ukraine. JAMA Pediatrics, 2024.
We have built a large cohort of war-affected adolescents in Ukraine and are designing an algorithm for effective and efficient allocation of mental healthcare resources. I receive generous funding from Japan Foundation for Pediatric Research and Chernobyl-Fukushima Medical Fund for this project.
[Study protocol]
Armed Conflict and Early Childhood Development in 12 Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Ryunosuke Goto, Thomas Frodl, Norbert Skokauskas. Pediatrics, 2021.
Using data on 27,538 children, we show that the development of children aged 3-4 years, especially socioemotional development, may be delayed as a consequence of war.
Trends in Obesity Among US Adolescents by Socioeconomic Status, 1999-2018. Ryunosuke Goto, Roch Nianogo, Yusuke Okubo, Kosuke Inoue. JAMA Pediatrics, 2022.
We provide evidence that the socioeconomic gap in US adolescents' obesity may be widening over the past few decades.
Reasons and trends in youth’s suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryunosuke Goto, Yusuke Okubo, Norbert Skokauskas. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 2022.
Using national-level data, we show that suicide rates among youth in Japan may have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contribution of Vaccinations to Reducing Socioeconomic Disparities in COVID-19 Deaths Across US counties. Ryunosuke Goto, Ichiro Kawachi, Naoki Kondo, Kosuke Inoue. Annals of Epidemiology, 2023.
We show that increasing vaccination rates may shrink the socioeconomic gap in COVID-19 deaths.
Conference Presentations and Invited Talks
Machine Learning Detects Heterogeneous Effects of Medicaid on Depression: Oregon Health Insurance Experiment.
Ryunosuke Goto, Kosuke Inoue, Itsuki Osawa, Katherine Baicker, Scott L. Fleming, Yusuke Tsugawa.
Oral presentation, Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) Annual Meeting, 2023.
[Paper]
Social network analysis and network interventions in society, human development, and health research.
Ryunosuke Goto, Akihiro Nishi.
Invited talk, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch Seminar Series, 2022.
Armed Conflict and Early Childhood Development in 12 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
Ryunosuke Goto, Thomas Frodl, Norbert Skokauskas.
Oral presentation, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition, 2021.
[Paper and video abstract]
Effects of comorbid Tourette symptoms on distress by compulsive-like behavior in very young children.
Ryunosuke Goto, Miyuki Fujio, Natsumi Matsuda, Mayu Fujiwara, Norbert Skokauskas, Yukiko Kano.
Oral presentation, 24th World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP), 2020.
[Paper]
Dissemination and implementation of the e-MCH Handbook, the potential role of m-Health in improving health equity in a refugee setting: A cross-sectional study.
Ryunosuke Goto, Seif Nasir, Akiko Kitamura, Majed Hababeh, Ghada Ballout, Junko Kiriya, Akihiro Seita, Masamine Jimba.
Oral presentation, American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, 2018.
[Paper]
Awards and Honors
Stanford Knight-Hennessy Scholars, 2024-A fellowship and leadership program for graduate students at Stanford. Scholars receive full funding and participate in leadership training, mentorship, and experiential learning for up to three years of their graduate study.
Society for Epidemiologic Research Kenneth Rothman Travel Scholarship, 2023
Awarded for the 2023 Annual Meeting.
Ukrainian Psychiatric Association Stanislav Kostyuchenko Award, 2023
Awarded to young researchers, doctors, or clinical psychologists who made significant contributions to psychiatric care in Ukraine.
The University of Tokyo Hospital Department of Pediatrics Research Award, 2022
Awarded to the top researcher in the Department of Peditrics at the University of Tokyo Hospital.
Donald J. Cohen Fellowship Program for International Scholars in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2020
Awarded by the the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) to emerging international leaders in child and adolescent mental health.
Research Grants
The Japan Foundation for Pediatric Research, Grant No. 22-001
2,000,000 yen (Approximately $16,000)
2023-2024
Chernobyl-Fukushima Medical Fund
1,000,000 yen (Approximately $8,000)
2022-