Professor Watanabe is a Pharmacist, Health Economist, and outcomes Researcher. He serves as a Member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Forum on Drug, Discovery, Development, and Translation. In this capacity, Professor Watanabe has been involved in methods development for pragmatic clinical trials through the FDA-sponsored Real-World Evidence Series and serves on the steering committee for the Drug Research Development in Older Adults Workshop. Professor Watanabe applies real-world data to develop policy solutions to improve patient care, bolster population-health, enhance access and equity for marginalized populations and reduce medical costs. He was a contributor to the NASEM report Making Medicines Affordable: a National Imperative and served on the committee for the Medications in Single-Dose Vials: Implications of Discarded Drugs.