# Nobu Ueki

> Nobuhide "Nobu" Ueki is a molecular biologist, inventor, and the founder and CEO of Chicago-based PRUNUS Therapeutics. After early gene-discovery work in Japan and more than a decade in Michael Hayman's Stony Brook laboratory, he led research on a two-enzyme prodrug gate called AcK-Lock, co-authored a 2013 Nature Communications paper, and became co-inventor on a US patent. PRUNUS, launched in 2016, is now pursuing a separate preclinical strategy aimed at detached cancer cells and anchorage-independent growth.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at PRUNUS Therapeutics; Research Associate at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- **Organizations:** PRUNUS Therapeutics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
- **Education:** PhD, The University of Tokyo
- **Known for:** Co-inventor of active US Patent 9,872,919, Prodrugs for selective anticancer therapy., First author of the 2013 Nature Communications paper Selective cancer targeting with prodrugs activated by histone deacetylases and a tumour-associated protease., Corresponding author of a 2016 Theranostics paper reporting preclinical refinement of the AcK-Lock prodrug approach.

## Career timeline

- **1991-1999** — Research scientist at Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.
- **1999-2000** — Research scientist at Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co.
- **2000-2006** — Postdoctoral research fellow at Stony Brook University.
- **2006-2017** — Research Assistant Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Stony Brook University.
- **2013** — First author of a Nature Communications paper describing two-enzyme activation of a cancer-selective prodrug.
- **2016** — Co-authored a Theranostics study refining the prodrug and founded PRUNUS Therapeutics.
- **2018** — US Patent 9,872,919 for prodrugs for selective anticancer therapy was issued to Ueki and Michael J. Hayman.
- **2018-2022** — Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
- **2022-2024** — Research Specialist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
- **2024-present** — Research Associate at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine while leading PRUNUS Therapeutics.

## Achievements

- Co-inventor of active US Patent 9,872,919, Prodrugs for selective anticancer therapy.
- First author of the 2013 Nature Communications paper Selective cancer targeting with prodrugs activated by histone deacetylases and a tumour-associated protease.
- Corresponding author of a 2016 Theranostics paper reporting preclinical refinement of the AcK-Lock prodrug approach.
- Founder of PRUNUS Therapeutics in 2016.
- Recipient of an NIH T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, as listed on his LinkedIn profile.
- ResearchGate lists 33 publications and 641 citations as of August 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — PRUNUS Therapeutics' website describes its leading anti-metastatic agent as under preclinical development and focused on detached cancer cells.
- **2024-03** — Public professional data lists Ueki as beginning a Research Associate role at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
- **2022-04** — Ueki highlighted independent in vivo research that applied the AcK-Lock two-enzyme logic to cancer-cell-selective RNA labeling.

## Links

- Website: https://www.prunustx.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nobu-ueki-55576a89

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/nobu-ueki
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-25