Akira Sekikawa

Contributions to Public Health

• Nutritional Interventions and Cognitive Aging (ACE Trial) (R01 AG074971): I am leading the NIH-funded ACE randomized controlled trial that investigates the effects of S-equol supplementation on arterial stiffness, brain white matter lesions, and cognitive decline. This work integrates dietary intervention, neuroimaging, and mechanistic biomarkers to better understand and prevent age-related cognitive impairment.
  • Sekikawa A, Wharton W, Butts B, Veliky CV, Garfein J, Li J, Goon S, Fort A Li M, Hughes T. Potential protective mechanisms of S-equol, a metabolite of soy isoflavone by the gut microbiome, on cognitive decline and dementia. Int J of Mol Sci 2022 23: 11921 PMCID9570153
  • Sekikawa A, Higashiyama A, Lopresti B, Ihara M, Aizenstein H, Watanabe M, Chang Y, Kakuta C, Yu Z, Mathis C, Kokubo Y, Klunk W, Lopez O, Kuller LH, Miyamoto Y, Cui C. Associations of equol-producing status with white matter lesion and amyloid-β deposition in cognitively normal elderly Japanese Alzheimer & Dementia Translational Research and Clinical Interventions. 2020; 16:1402-11 PMCID7580022
• Integrative Metabolomics and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (IMMEA Study) (R01 HL 169332): I serve as principal investigator of the IMMEA: two case-control studies nested with two longitudinal studies in Japan, which examine the associations of microbiome-derived equol, omega-3 fatty acids, and metabolomics profiles with incident ASCVD. The study provides a systems-level approach to identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
  • Zhang X, Veliky CV, Birru RL, Barinas-Mitchell E, Magnani JW, Sekikawa A. Potential Protective Effects of Equol on Coronary Heart Disease – From Molecular Mechanisms to Studies in Human. Nutrients. 2021 Oct 23. 13(11):3739 PMCID862975
  • Sekikawa A, Curb JD, Ueshima H, El-Saed A, Kadowaki T, Abbott RD, Evans RW, Rodriguez BL, Okamura T, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Nakamura Y, Masaki K, Edmundowicz D, Kashiwagi A, Willcox BJ, Takamiya T, Mitsunami K, Seto TB, Murata K, White RL, Kuller LH. Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese Americans, and Whites. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008; 52: 417-24 PMID: 18672160
• Training Future Epidemiologists (T32 HL083825): As director of the T32 Cardiovascular Epidemiology Program, I mentor pre- and post-doctoral trainees in cutting-edge cardiovascular science. Trainees under my direction have published extensively and assumed impactful academic and public health roles.
  • Kozai AC (T32 trainee), Brilli Skvarca L, Parks WT, Lane A, Barone Gibbs B, Catov JM. A novel technique to estimate intravillous fetal vasculature on routine placenta histologic sections. Placenta. 2024. 145:60-64. PMCID10842830
  • Marron MM (T32 trainee), Cvejkus RK, Acevedo-Fontanez AI, Kuipers AL, Nair S, Carr JJ, Terry JG, Wheeler V, Miljkovic I. Replacing sedentary time with light activity was associated with less adiposity across several depots in African ancestry men. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022 Dec. 30(12):2489-2496. PMID: 36415998; PMCID: PMC9832382.
• Subclinical Atherosclerosis Research: I serve as director of the Ultrasound Research Laboratory. I have pioneered research on subclinical cardiovascular disease using imaging biomarkers, particularly among Asian and American men. My studies contributed key evidence linking fatty acids, equol, and plaque burden.
  • Cui C, Sekikawa A, Kuller LH, Lopez OL, Newman AB, Kuipers AL, Mackey RH. Aortic Stiffness is Associated with Increased Risk of Incident Dementia in Older Adults. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;66(1):297-306. PMCID6313252
  • Li M, Fujiyoshi A, Willcox BJ, Li J, Kadota A, Kadowaki S, Seto T, Kadowaki T, Chang Y, Evans R, Miura K, Edmundowicz D, Okamura T, Masaki KH, Ueshima H, Sekikawa A. Progression of aortic calcification among Japanese in Japan and white and Japanese Americans: a prospective cohort study. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2025 Jan 31;26(2):273-279. PMID3923733
• International Epidemiology: My pioneering international research revealed paradoxically low mortality from coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Japan, despite high smoking rates and rising cholesterol. My work, including meta-analyses and cross-national comparisons, highlights unique protective factors in the Japanese population. These findings have reshaped global understanding of chronic disease risk and offer novel insights for prevention strategies.
  • Sekikawa A, Li M, Joshi N, Herbert B, Tilves C, Cui C, Gao S, Chang Y, Nakano Y, Sciurba FC. Much Lower Prevalence and Mortality of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Japan Than in the United States Despite Higher Smoking Rates: A Meta-Analysis/Systematic Review. J Epidemiol. 2025 35:90-99. PMCID11706673
  • Sekikawa A, Miyamoto Y, Miura K, Nishimura K, Willcox BJ, Masaki KH, Rodriguez B, Tracy RP, Okamura T, Kuller LH. Continuous decline in mortality from coronary heart disease in Japan despite a continuous and marked rise in total cholesterol: Japanese experience after the Seven Countries Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2015 Oct;44(5):1614-24. PMCID26182938