Dr Mifuyu Akasaki

Mifuyu has worked for the third sector in Ecuador and Fiji on health and social inequalities, and also with academics and government in Japan on healthy ageing. After working in a cardiology ward in Japan, she was selected by Japan International Cooperation Agency to work in an indigenous community in collaboration with Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health. In 2016, after master’s degree at University College London (UCL), she was posted to World Health Organization (WHO) in Fiji, being involved in developing a monitoring and accountability system of non-communicable to assess progress on the implementation of policies and actions in west pacific countries. She then joined a longitudinal ageing study group in Japan, where she coordinated a collaborative project with the WHO; delivered the evaluation of the Japan national health policy; and administered a project with a local authority with the aim of reducing long-term care needs among older people. She was awarded a PhD from UCL in 2022, funded by UCL Doctoral School Fellowship, and then joined Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit. She is currently involved in projects to ensure safety of blood donors. She contributes to designing randomised controlled trials, as well as prediction model of vasovagal reactions among blood donors.