Month: March 2021

Mark Birch-Machin, PhD, is Professor of Molecular Dermatology at Newcastle University UK (Translational and Clinical Research Institute), Director of Business Development (Medical Sciences) and Faculty Ambassador for the UK National Innovation Centre for Ageing.

He previously worked at Universities in Oregon, Paris and Toronto. He is a member of the Editorial Board of several international dermatology journals, and national/international advisory boards (including cosmetic companies) and grant committees for skin research and UK cosmetic regulation.

His research group focuses on the response of human skin to the environment (including sunlight and pollution), particularly within the context of skin ageing and has been funded over the last 30 years by UK research councils, charities, UK government as well as global companies. He has played a pivotal role in pioneering the use of mitochondrial DNA as a biomarker of sun damage in skin. He has an interest in understanding the role of mitochondria in UV and environmental-induced oxidative stress, skin cancer and the relationship between oxidative stress, nutritional status, pigmentation and skin ageing as well as the science and use of sunscreens. He has published extensively including 3 different Nature journals.

He has co-founded a number of spin out companies (Canada and UK), and is also a co-inventor on multiple patents including that of a dermatology product that sold in over a 1,000 stores in Canada.

Dr Tomonobu Ezure has an impressive record of recognition of his research and use of digital technology.  

His presentations at IFSCC 2020, Yokohama and IFSCC 2018, Munich included Shiseido research into a new technique to target skin aging. It combines scanning electron microscopy with a whole-skin, electron-conductive treatment to produce a 3D image that is then color-coded via artificial intelligence software. 

In 2018 Tomonobu won second place at the 12th China Cosmetics Academic Research Conference for his discovery of a skin-aging mechanism caused by sweat gland shrinkage. In 2016, he was recognized at the IFSCC Congress for his poster on the relevance of facial fat as an anti-aging target—the full study of which he published with Cosmetics & Toiletries.

Rachel Watson (BSc (Hons), PhD) is Professor of Cutaneous Science and is Head of the Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences within the School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health at the University of Manchester. She received her BSc (Anatomy & Cell Biology) and PhD degrees from the University of Sheffield, where she worked on cell models of neurodegeneration.

Her research includes understanding the mechanisms which lead to skin ageing and the assessment of extracellular matrix repair, particularly by topical retinoids. She holds research council, charity and industry funding. As well as being the Academic Director of the MSc/PGDip/PGCert in Skin Ageing & Aesthetic Medicine at this University, she sits on the editorial boards of 3 scientific journals and is Section Editor (Translational Research) of the British Journal of Dermatology. Rachel also sits on the British Association of Dermatologists’ UK-TREND committee, which helps guide research priorities in the area of skin health and disease and is a board member of the European Society for Dermatological Research.