1. Biography

A medical researcher with a doctorate in veterinary medicine, after graduating from Nihon University Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, he conducted immunopathology research on livestock infectious diseases at a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries research institute for 36 years. During that time, he conducted overseas research at the University of Iowa College of Veterinary Medicine, the National Animal Disease Center (NADC), the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and in recent years at the Institute of Mathematics and the University of Tennessee in the United States. After retiring, he worked at Tohto University in Saitama Prefecture, where he continued his research while teaching basic medicine and nursing English to nursing students. His research theme is also the human rights of people with disabilities. After that, he worked as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Human Pathology at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and currently as a part-time lecturer in autoimmune diseases (such as Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis) at the Department of Neurology at Juntendo University School of Medicine, and as a part-time lecturer in medical English at the University's School of Health and Medical Sciences. In order to continue his research on autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases, he founded the Comparative Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in April 2018 and has served as its director. (For medical pathology research papers, please click here.)

In addition, since his daughter has Down's syndrome, he has been researching issues of human rights violations and protection of people with intellectual disabilities in addition to his specialized pathology research at Tohto University. He founded an association for parents of children with Down's syndrome in Ibaraki Prefecture and served as its secretariat for 30 years. In 1989, while studying abroad at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, he interacted with Professor Jerome Lejeune's genetics group at the National Necker Enfants Maladies Hospital. He interacted with parents' associations and workshops for intellectually disabled people in Paris and collected information. In addition, through his activities as a director of international organizations for Down's syndrome (FIDS, DSi) for many years, he has had a channel for parents' associations overseas. Such information is made public through the website of the International Down's Syndrome Information Center.

Books related to Down's syndrome

◯In January 2024, he translated and published a biography of Professor Jerome Lejeune, a devout Catholic, doctor, and known as the father of modern genetics. Through his connection with the original author, he was invited to the International Conference on Bioethics held in Rome this year, where he gave a lecture on prenatal testing for Down's syndrome and bioethics. His interview before the conference and his lecture can be viewed on YouTube.

◯ Translation supervision: Handbook for Supporting Young People with Down's Syndrome, edited by JM Puesquel, Akashi Shoten (2008). (*Click here to see activities related to welfare for disabled children.)

In 1984, his son with Down's syndrome was born, which prompted him to start thinking about children and people with disabilities. After retiring, he became a Japanese teacher. Welfare activities
1) Participated in the effort to create a special needs school in Tsukuba. 

2) Participated in the establishment of the Ibaraki Prefecture Down's Syndrome Association and the Tsukuba Prefecture South Down's Syndrome Children's Parents Association, and subsequently became a caretaker. 

3) Participated in the preparation and establishment of "Polan no Hiroba", an after-school care center for children with disabilities. 

4) Director of the NPO Ibaraki Specialty Course Consideration Group, Director of the NPO Nikkori no Mori 

5) Auditor of the Comparative Medicine Research Institute Academic conference presentations, etc. 

The state of patient education in the multimedia era 9th Spring Clinical Conference of the Japanese Society of Allergology, May 1, 1997, Masafumi Kodama 

Local activities and the creation of a system to ensure the development of children with disabilities: Initiatives in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Masafumi Kodama, Research on Disability Issues, 29(2) 140-144, August 2001