Study abroad was an option that Mr. Yagi Ryuichiro had in mind for a long time. He recalls, “I did a month-long internship at a hospital in New York in my 6th year at medical school. It was such a wonderful experience that it made me want to go abroad to study again.”

While working as a cardiologist, he became aware of the problems regarding approaches of disease prevention and this led him to decide on studying epidemiology and biostatistics deeply at an oversea graduate school of public health. He realized that he was eligible to apply for the Fulbright scholarship when preparing for study abroad. He states, “I knew that there are many exceptional Fulbrighters, and I would be honored if I could also become a recipient.” After learning that he was going to be awarded, Mr. Yagi left his job to study at the Harvard School of Public Health, where various cutting-edge researches and projects are conducted.

At Harvard, Mr. Yagi analyzed electrocardiograms using deep learning technology and researched ways of diagnosing heart conditions easily. He remarks, “Harvard researchers are allowed to use almost all electronic medical records of the affiliated hospitals. In Japan, this hasn’t been achieved yet. I was incredibly privileged to have this experience.”

It may seem that all was going smoothly; however, the pandemic did affect his experience. Mr. Yagi attended online classes from Japan for the first half of his grant period. Then for the second half, he flew to the U.S. but in-person classes were held only once a week. “Nevertheless,” he remarks, “That once a week was invaluable. In-person classes were for international students, so students from all over the world were there. I was able to study in a very diverse environment.”

Restrictions remain, especially for international travels, and study abroad is not as easy as before. To those who wish to study abroad in such time, “You must keep in mind and be clear on the issues that you want to address since this mindset is crucial to overcome the challenges,” he advises.

Mr. Yagi plans on returning to Japan after completing his post-doctoral research. He says, “Through this experience, I come to realize that my research results, using this large database of electronic medical records, will help to convey the value of developing useful clinical databases in Japan. I strongly believe improving such a rich research environment will ultimately bring great benefits for patients.” With no doubt, Fulbright experience has expanded Mr. Yagi’s horizon.