An interactive and curated event to give a cross section of the current state of the science of skincare. This event happened on Feb 25th 2024. Replay is now live!

Watch the summit replay here!

While this event is free of charge, our attempt is to make all of our summits top tier, competing with the highest quality conferences. From our experience, these conferences are generally very expensive and innaccessible to many independent professionals. Our free e-conference initiative is our attempt to democratize accurate information in cosmetics to anyone who wants it. Interested in supporting what we’re doing? Please share this event with your network!

Agenda

Skin Concerns, Feat Mara Evangelista-Huber MD @dermomtology 

Formulation Design, Feat Ava Perkins @ava.perk

Active Ingredients, Feat Lanesa Mahon @raya.faces

Building a Skincare Routine, Feat Ramon Pagan @glowbyramon

In-Clinic Treatments, Feat Aegean Chan MD @draegeanchan 

Skincare Trends, Feat Nadine Baggott @nadinebaggott

Fragrance in Skincare, Feat Michael Nordstrand from Mythologist @michaelnorstrandperfumer

Skincare Myths and Misconceptions, Feat Gabriella Baki PhD from the University of Toledo 

Skincare Claims, Feat Brian Ecclefield from Validated Claim Support

Skin Microbiome, Feat Paul Lawrence PhD from Biocogent

Psychology of Skincare, Feat Eleanor Chatburn DClinPsy @dreleanorchatburn

Skin Neutrality and Inclusivity, Feat Lex Gillies @talontedlex

Stay tuned for the full schedule!

Speaker Bios

Mara Evangelista-Huber MD is a dermatologist and dermatopathologist, otherwise known as @dermomtology on IG. After graduating from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery Cum Laude, Dr. Mara took her dermatology residency at the Jose R. Reyes Medical Center where she became chief resident and graduated as the Most Outstanding Dermatology Resident and Most Outstanding Overall Resident. She was the topnotcher of the Philippine Dermatological Society’s board examination last 2014. After taking her fellowship in dermatopathology, the study of skin disease at a microscopic and molecular level, at the University of California San Francisco, she passed the International Certification for Dermatopathology in Germany. She has a Masters Degree in Clinical Trials from the University of London where she graduated with honors at the top of her class.

Ava Perkins is a cosmetic chemist, science communicator, and PhD student. She has her Bachelor's degree in Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design from the University of Toledo and is currently pursuing her PhD in Biomembrane Sciences at the University of Cincinnati. Within the industry, she has experience working in R&D, technical marketing, and social media marketing for contract manufacturers and raw ingredient suppliers. Her formal education and industry experience allows her to formulate over 50 cosmetic, personal care, and pharmaceutical products including skin care, hair care, sun care, color cosmetics, and more. Additionally, Ava is heavily involved in the Society of Cosmetic Chemists and is currently the chair of the NextGen Advisory Committee which addresses the needs of young professionals in the cosmetic and personal care industry. As a cosmetic chemist and content creator, it is her goal to bridge the gap between industry knowledge and consumer understanding by educating about the science behind cosmetic and personal care products.

Lanesa Mahon is a cosmetic chemist and 2nd year PhD student in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Cincinnati. Originally from Columbia, SC., she obtained her bachelor’s in chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2020. After her bachelors, she decided to combine her passion for science and beauty going on to earn her Master of Business and Science in Cosmetic Science from Rutgers University in 2022. She has completed several industry internships during her academic career and does sci-comm work on her IG and Tik Tok platform @raya.faces. Her current PhD research investigates the relationship between skin ageing and fibroblast senescence.

Ramon Pagan is a Puerto Rican cosmetic chemist, product developer, and esthetician whose content focuses on promoting inclusivity in the cosmetic industry as well as making cosmetic science an approachable and fun topic for all. Find Ramon online @glowbyramon.

Aegean H. Chan, MD, FAAD is a double board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist, practicing in Santa Barbara, CA. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Dermatology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Her area of clinical expertise is in complex medical dermatology, skin cancer, and acne. She has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed medical journals on the science of the skin barrier, electron microscopy, and congenital skin diseases. Dr. Chan is an advocate of minimalist, evidence-based, and effective skincare and uses her Instagram platform to provide relevant, useful skin education. For more skincare tips from Dr. Chan, check her out at @draegeanchan on Instagram or her website, aegeanmd.com.

Nadine Baggott is a presenter, journalist and content creator with over 30 years in the beauty business. Nadine is a weekly columnist for Times Magazine and a regular on ITV’s This Morning, and has also built an online community of people who believe that age is no barrier to looking good and feeling great. She helps sort the facts from the fiction when it comes to beauty, informing consumers which products are worth the hype and what to give a miss. Her success can be credited to her breadth of knowledge and brutally honest approach to beauty.

Michael Nordstrand is an independent perfumer, teacher and multidisciplinary artist who began his career in Creative Direction for Fashion & Beauty. He holds degrees and certifications in Perfume Creation from Givaudan, ISIPCA, and The Grasse Institute of Perfumery as well as a certification in Medicinal Plants from Cornell University.

Gabriella Baki, PhD is an associate professor at the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is the director and main instructor of various lectures and laboratories in the UToledo Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design program.  Dr. Baki is a pharmacist, graduated in 2008 from the University of Szeged, Hungary; and has a PhD in Pharmaceutics from the same university. Dr. Baki’s main research focuses on the topical delivery of active ingredients, sensory testing of creams and lotions, and SFP boosting technologies. Dr. Baki has made 20+ technical presentations, written 45+ publications, contributed to a few book chapters and has a book, Introduction to Cosmetic Formulation and Technology; its second edition published by John Wiley and Sons in January of 2023. Dr. Baki is also actively involved in the cosmetic science community and served as chair of SCC NextGen Advisory Committee in 2023.

Brian Ecclefield has spent the last 14 years validating and supporting product label claims through custom in vivo clinical studies.  His primary expertise is in protocol development for OTC, personal care, and cosmetic products, and in 2018 he founded Validated Claim Support in the hopes of offering a more ethical, transparent, and technologically secure clinical experience for beauty brands looking to back their claims through actual clinical data.  Specializing in expert objective grading, biophysical instrumentation, before and after imaging, and consumer perception, Validated has done custom clinical studies for over 200 individual clients to date and helped to launch hundreds of products with industry leading before and after imaging and unparalleled customer service.

Dr. Paul Lawrence is the Executive Director of Research and Discovery at Biocogent, LLC. Dr. Lawrence received his doctorate in molecular microbiology from Stony Brook University and before that obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology from the University of New Mexico. During his career, he has conducted biological research in academia, industry, and for the United States government. He has executed anti-viral therapeutic and vaccine research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Plum Island Animal  Disease Center. In industry, he has participated in contract biopharmaceutical projects for the former Collaborative Bioalliance and Dow Chemical. Dr. Lawrence was also the Director of DNA Production for the anti-counterfeiting biotechnology company, Applied DNA Sciences. Currently, he is the Executive Director of Research and Discovery for Biocogent. In his scarce spare time, he is also an adjunct professor teaching microbiology to future nurses and doctors. Over the course of his career, Dr. Lawrence has published more than 30 research manuscripts and review articles, more than 25 online science digests, and has authored a textbook chapter on the molecular pathogenesis of one of the world’s most infectious viruses.

Dr Eleanor Chatburn is a UK registered clinical psychologist with a specialist interest in psychodermatology based at Self London. She also leads a youth mental health research programme at the University of East Anglia where she is a lecturer in clinical psychology. She is passionate about raising awareness of the links between skin health and mental health and is an ambassador for the British Skin Foundation.

Lex Gillies is a rosacea educator and skin positivity campaigner. Having been diagnosed with rosacea 19 years ago and educating others about the condition online for over a decade, Lex has an undeniable knowledge and passion when it comes to skin conditions, community support, and media representation. Widely recognised as a leading rosacea authority, Lex is also a British Skin Foundation ambassador, a role she has proudly held for the past eight years. Lex is also the founder of Real Skin Club: a skin positivity shop with inspiring gifts to encourage everyone to view themselves with kindness, to embrace difference, and celebrate their unique appearance.

Thank you to our Sponsors for helping us keep this event free and accessible to anyone!

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