Dr. Ryuji Ueno, M.D., Ph.D. and Ph.D., is an internationally recognized scientist, innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Trained and certified as a medical doctor at Keio University School of Medicine in Japan, Dr. Ueno spent his academic career in the fields of pharmacology, physiology, and biochemistry at Columbia University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, and Stanford University. He has authored more than 100 articles in notable scientific journals. He is also passionate about classical music and is the founder and executive producer of the Ryuji Ueno Foundation. In the 1980s, Dr. Ueno first discovered the tremendous therapeutic potential of prostones, a class of functional fatty acids. After ten years of biomedical research, he founded R-Tech Ueno, Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company that developed Rescula® (unoprostone), a BK channel opener discovered by Dr. Ueno to treat glaucoma that has been used by more than 500,000 patients in 45 countries. In 1996, Dr. Ueno moved to the United States and established Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, which successfully developed a second medicine, AMITIZA® (lubiprostone), a ClC-2 channel opener discovered by Dr. Ueno to treat various gastrointestinal conditions. In 2019, Dr. Ueno was appointed professor at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Regulation of Neurocognitive Disorders. He seeks to elucidate and provide a novel effective therapy for neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Ueno has received numerous awards and recognitions over the years, including Nikkei BP Publications’ Japan Innovator of the Year Award (2006), the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Greater Washington Area in the Life Sciences Category (2006), honorary membership in the American Gastroenterological Association (2008) and the Foundation Fighting Blindness Visionary Award (2014).

In 2015, Dr. Ueno founded the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and serves as its executive producer. Through the foundation, Dr. Ueno produces more than fourteen performances a year inviting renowned artists from across the world. He also began the Potomac Music Lab Project, an incubator for classical music where world-class musicians can experiment with their craft. The project includes The 6821 Quintet, named for the distance in miles between Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, that performed its world debut at the National Cherry Blossom Festival in 2016. Dr. Ueno has also created the Global Leadership Program in collaboration with the Liechtenstein Music Academy, an opportunity for various international music students to learn what it means to be a professional performing artist in the United States.

Dr. Ueno is Director & Visiting Professor of the Ryuji Ueno Institute for Mind & Music Experience at Shenandoah Conservatory, and serves on Shenandoah Conservatory’s Advisory Board. He also holds the position of Professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Regulation of Neurocognitive Disorders. He was also recently appointed as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Toho School of Music in Tokyo.