[1][2] Ma was born on September 11, 1963, into a teacher's family in Sheqi County, Henan.
[3] In September 1980 he entered Shandong University, where he graduated in July 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
[4] In September 1984 he studied under Lu Xiyan at the Shanghai institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), earning a Doctor of Science degree in July 1989.
[4] From May 1990 he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh and Mayo Clinic in the United States.
[4] He returned to China in 1994 and joined the Shanghai institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).