Daniel Nomura is a prominent chemical biologist whose pioneering work bridges chemistry, molecular biology and therapeutic development. He currently serves as Professor of Chemical Biology and Molecular Therapeutics in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley with additional appointments at UCSF and leadership roles in multiple major research initiatives. After earning his B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2003 and Ph.D. in Molecular Toxicology in 2008 from UC Berkeley under Professor John Casida he completed postdoctoral training at Scripps Research with Professor Benjamin F. Cravatt. His establishment as a faculty member at UC Berkeley in 2011 launched an influential research program focused on innovative chemical biology solutions to previously intractable therapeutic challenges.
Dr. Nomura has revolutionized approaches to targeting undruggable proteins through chemoproteomic technologies that systematically explore the proteome enabling previously impossible therapeutic interventions. His laboratory has discovered several groundbreaking modalities including the Deubiquitinase Targeting Chimera platform for protein stabilization covalent inhibitors against challenging targets like MYC and molecular glues that activate tumor suppressor mechanisms. As Director of the Novartis-Berkeley Translational Chemical Biology Institute since 2017 he has advanced platforms for chemoproteomic screening and covalent ligand discovery that address proteins constituting over 85 percent of the human proteome previously considered undruggable. His scientific contributions have fundamentally expanded the horizons of drug discovery creating new therapeutic opportunities for numerous diseases with significant unmet medical needs.
Beyond his research achievements Dr. Nomura has played a transformative role in translating academic discoveries into clinical applications by co-founding multiple biotechnology ventures including Frontier Medicines Vicinitas Therapeutics and Zenith Therapeutics which leverage his group's technological innovations. His leadership extends across the scientific ecosystem through advisory roles at The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research membership on multiple scientific advisory boards and his position as Investment Advisory Partner at a16z Bio+Health. He has received prestigious honors including the National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award and Searle Scholar recognition for his exceptional contributions to chemical biology. Having assumed the Editor-in-Chief position for Molecular Cancer Therapeutics in early 2025 he continues to shape the future direction of cancer drug discovery while advancing novel therapeutic modalities through his active research program.
