CHANEL Research and Technology has announced the most recent honoree for its annual CHANEL-CE.R.I.E.S. Research Award – Emi Nishimura M.D., Ph.D. (Japan) has been nominated to receive the 2015 Award. Julia Segre Ph.D (USA) has received the 2014 Award.

Each year, the award honors a scientific reseacher with a proven track record in fundamental or clinical research work involving
the physiology or biology of healthy skin and/or its reactions to environmental factors. 

“Ever since we created the CHANEL-CE.R.I.E.S. Research Award in 1996, our aim has been to support ground-breaking skin research projects, aiming to enrich our understanding of the skin with new findings made available to all,” comments Christian Mahé, Senior Vice President, CHANEL Research & Technology.  “Our most recent laureates are proof of this aim and we are proud to support their trail-blazing work”.

The Projects Pushing Innovation in Skin Care Technologies

Emi Nishimura’s work aims to further elucidate the mechanisms of skin aging and their application to skin regeneration and rejuvenation. Applied to the field of cosmetic science, Professor Nishimura’s project may lead to new preventative measures to delay the classic signs of aging.

Nishimura is Professor and Chair, Department of Stem Cell Biology, Medical Research Institute at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan. “Professor Nishimura’s project will employ sophisticated genetic and imaging techniques to monitor the fate of so-called stem cells in skin and hair follicles and to determine their response to environmental stress and aging,” explains Professor Gilchrest.

Julia Segre’s work will pave the way for innovative cosmetic research targeting individual beauty and skin needs.

Segre is Senior Investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, MD, USA. Her research focuses on understanding the skin’s microbiome and the role of surface bacteria, fungi, and viruses in the maintenance of healthy skin.

“Professor Segre’s project will apply powerful DNA sequencing techniques to skin swabs obtained from healthy volunteers to characterize resident bacteria and other microbes at multiple dry, moist and sebum-rich body sites,” explains Professor Barbara Gilchrest, President of the CE.R.I.E.S. Scientific Advisory Board which selects the annual Awardees.  “By repeatedly sampling these volunteers for two years, she will also determine whether these species vary over time.  Her work reflects the very recent appreciation that human beings exist in equilibrium with trillions of microbes on the skin and in the intestine that strongly influence body function.”