Biography

Junko Tanaka, PhD, is Professor, Executive Vice President, and Member of the Board at Hiroshima University. She is an epidemiologist specializing in the prevention and elimination of viral hepatitis. For more than three decades, she has led numerous national and international research programs on the epidemiology, modeling, and public health strategies for hepatitis B and C, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE), and partner institutions across Asia and Africa.

In Japan, Dr. Tanaka has served for more than ten years as Principal Investigator of the MHLW Viral Hepatitis Epidemiology Research Group and has led multiple major research projects. Her work integrates burden-of-disease assessment, large-scale population databases, diagnostic system evaluation, and digital health applications within an implementation science framework. These contributions have played a central role in strengthening Japan’s epidemiological evidence base and accelerating progress toward the WHO 2030 viral hepatitis elimination goals.

Dr. Tanaka’s research and societal contributions have been widely recognized. She has received numerous honors, including the Hiroshima University Education Award (2016), Hiroshima University President’s Award (2018), Hiroshima University Distinguished Professor (2021), the 79th Chugoku Culture Award (2022), the Royal Order of Monisaraphon (Knight Commander), Kingdom of Cambodia (2023), the Distinguished Service Award for Fostering Women Engineers/Researchers (2023), and the Elimination Champion Award from the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination, Task Force for Global Health, USA (2023).

She also serves as an editor, committee member, and advisor for multiple international journals and scientific bodies, including AMED, JST, and JSPS. Dr. Tanaka is widely recognized as a leading figure in evidence-based public health policy and a key global leader in advancing international collaboration toward the elimination of viral hepatitis.