Naonori Kodate

Naonori Kodate is Associate Professor at the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin (UCD), where he directs the Public Policy Programme and co-founded the UCD Centre for Japanese Studies. He holds concurrent appointments as Adjunct Research Professor at Chiba University's Center for Frontier Medical Engineering and research affiliations with institutions in India and Japan.

Research Interests:

• Comparative healthcare politics and policy
• Science & Technology Studies (STS)
• Welfare technology and social robotics
• Implementation science and systems thinking
• Global aging and dementia care
• Gender equality in science and technology

His research explores the intersection of technology and care, particularly through the Circuits of Care documentary. Current work examines rare disease economics, rural care technology, and cross-cultural robot deployment.

• Recipient of JSPS and Toyota Foundation grants
• Multidisciplinary collaborations across 12 countries
• 2024 UCD Teaching Excellence Award

Advises PhD students in rare disease impacts, assistive technology, and care sociology. Supervises research on healthcare robotics in Ireland-Japan-Finland contexts.