On June 30, 2025, Professor Ju-Young Shin (Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea), Chair of AsPEN, delivered a presentation at the NeuroGEN Short Course held in Prato, Italy.
The presentation introduced AsPEN’s mission of fostering multinational collaboration in pharmacoepidemiology and highlighted several ongoing research initiatives led by network members. Professor Shin shared progress from AsPEN’s international survey of pregnancy healthcare databases, a collaborative project aimed at characterizing data sources available for perinatal pharmacoepidemiology research across multiple countries and regions. The project seeks to facilitate future multinational studies by providing researchers with a comprehensive overview of database structures, data availability, and opportunities for collaboration.
Professor Shin also presented preliminary findings from an ongoing multinational study examining antidepressant utilization patterns during pregnancy. The project compares treatment continuation, discontinuation, and re-initiation patterns across several countries, providing insight into differences in clinical practice, healthcare systems, and guideline implementation. Early findings suggest substantial variation in antidepressant use during pregnancy across participating countries, highlighting the need for continued international collaboration and evidence generation.
AsPEN looks forward to continuing these collaborative efforts and advancing research that informs medication safety and effectiveness across diverse populations.