Motonari Uesugi is a Professor of The Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences and Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University; Editorial Board Member of Chemistry & Biology (Cell Press) and MedChemComm (Royal Society of Chemistry); Editor of Biochemical Journal (London). After completing postdoctoral training in Harvard Chemistry Department, Dr. Uesugi started his independent career in Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, where he has established an interdisciplinary laboratory in the area of chemical biology. He was tenured in Baylor in 2005, and moved to Kyoto University as a full professor in 2005. He is a recipient of Gold Medal Award, Tokyo TechnoForum 21 (2006), The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Award for Divisional Scientific Promotions (2011) and German Innovation Award Gottfried Wagener Prize (2011). Dr. Uesugi and his co-workers aim to gain a fundamental understanding of biological events through the study of small molecules.