Chanel – and its Chanel Research division – have announced it is presenting its Chanel-Ceries Research Award 2016 to Professor David Kelsell, Ph.D. for his trail-blazing work in skin molecular mechanisms.

Kelsell is shown above. Photo copyright: David Kelsell (PRNewsFoto/CHANEL Research)

Kelsell’s research focuses on new insights into the molecular mechanisms responsible for maintaining and correcting the skin’s balance. Based in the UK, Kelsell is deputy director of research at the Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London. 

Professor Barbara Gilchrest, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and president of the Ceries Scientific Advisory Board which selects the annual Awardees, says, “Professor Kelsell’s research will focus on the presumptive role of iRHOM2 as a master regulator of stress responses in skin. Using cultured human keratinocytes, he will examine how this as yet little-studied protein modulates inflammation and otherwise protects the skin from sun damage and either physical or chemical challenges.”

Paving the Way for Skin Care Innovations

Professor Kelsell’s project will pave the way for innovative cosmetic research targeting both maintenance and repair of healthy skin.

Kelsell comments, “Indeed, the award will allow us to specifically investigate, using molecular and cell biology tools, why the palm and sole skin is much thicker than other parts of the body and how it responds to physical and environmental stress. Receiving this award is truly a personal honor but is also a reflection of the dedicated work of the Kelsell group as a whole and the wonderful research collaborations we have had over the years.”

The Chanel-Ceries Research Award was created in 1996 to support innovative skin research projects and enrich global understanding of healthy skin.