A wide-ranging group of experts in their fields will be at the podium during the Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ 71st annual scientific meeting and technology showcase, which is scheduled for Dec. 11-12 in New York City.


The Henry Maso Keynote Award Lecture (Dec. 11) will be presented by Elaine Fuchs, PhD. Dr. Fuchs is renowned for her research in skin biology, its stem cells and associated genetic disorders, including cancers. She received her doctorate in biochemistry from Princeton. After postdoctoral research at MIT, she joined the faculty at University of Chicago. In 2002, she relocated to Rockefeller University, where she is now the Rebecca C. Lancefield professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development. She has been an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1988.


Her awards and honors include the Richard Lounsbery Award from the National Academy of Sciences, National Medal of Science, L’Oréal-UNESCO Award, Albany Prize in Medicine, March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology, Pasarow Award in Cancer, Pezcoller Award in Cancer Research, EB Wilson Award, and, in 2017, she received the Vanderbilt Prize. Fuchs is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine), American Philosophical Society and European Molecular Biology Organization (foreign member). She holds honorary doctorates from NYU School of Medicine, University of Illinois, Albany Medical College and Harvard University. She is past-president of American Society for Cell Biology, The International Society for Stem Cell Research and the Harvey Society, and serves on the NYAS Board of Governors and NAM/IOM Council.


Also speaking, among others, over the course of the two-day meeting are:

• Jennifer Marsh PhD, research fellow, Beauty Technology Division, P&G Beauty. Dr. Marsh has been working with P&G for 21 years in a variety of roles including consumer research, product development and technology development. The majority of her early career was spent working as a technologist in hair color during which time she developed new damage technologies for Clairol Nice N Easy brand and a new oxidant system launched in 2008 as Nice N Easy Perfect 10. For the past 10 years, she has been part of the beauty technology division working on hair color and hair care technologies including new actives for Pantene and other hair care brands. Marsh is passionate about building fundamental technical models and translating these insights into new technologies and technical product stories. She has published 20 papers in the area of hair structure science and hair color, presented work at many external conferences, and holds more than 30 patents. Her specific areas of expertise include hair structure understanding, bleach and oxidative chemistry and dye kinetics. Marsh’s presentation is entitled: “Measuring Hair Damage & Strategies to Deliver Healthy Hair.”
• Ujjwal Sinha, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Management Foresight. Dr. Sinha is the founder of Management Foresight, and a strategy and analytics expert specializing in revenue generation and building profitability through analytics driven operational excellence. The Gamma Analytics AI Suite from Management Foresight is largely based on some AI techniques he had developed while at MIT. Before Management Foresight, Sinha was the VP of enterprise BI and analytics at Target Corporation. Sinha led a 500-plus person analytics team that was responsible for all BI and analytics functions—predictive analytics, optimization, data sciences, AI, big data, data quality, business intelligence and reporting across all business functions for the entire company globally. As a vice president at Salesforce.com, a cloud computing company, Sinha managed a $100 million P&L for the strategic services business, instilling operational excellence into business operations. Prior to this, Sinha was a director at Microsoft, where he pioneered Microsoft’s first ever marketing campaign measurement, analytics and ROI system. His presentation is: “Analytics Case Studies from the Retail/Consumer Sectors.”
• Claudia Aguirre PhD, neuroscientist and mind-body expert. Dr. Aguirre is a neuroscientist and mind-body expert, specializing in the connection between the brain and the skin. She received her bachelor of science degree from UCLA and earned her doctorate degree from the University of Southern California, where she investigated hormonal interactions in the aging brain. In between her studies, she researched molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia at the National Institute of Mental Health. She has also completed a certificate course on yoga, mindfulness and social change at Loyola Marymount University. Aguirre is a TEDx speaker and consults internationally in the health and wellness industries. Her clients include Unilever, Samsung, Red Bull, Dyson and Davines, and she has current projects with TED Ed, NASA and the Global Wellness Institute. Her presentation is: “The Brain-Skin Connection: Formulating for the Wellness World.”
• Debbie Alexander director, business development at 23andMe. Alexander’s role at 23andMe involves forging innovative healthcare and research partnerships across a broad range of disease areas. Prior to joining 23andMe, she was assistant director, licensing, at University of California, San Francisco and specialized in the rapidly-growing area of dHealth innovations. While at UCSF, Alexander managed a large intellectual property portfolio of biomedical inventions, successfully negotiated a wide range of licensing deals, and played critical roles in the formations of several UCSF start-ups. She was previously a scientific curator at TAIR, the worldwide Arabidopsis database; and also performed postdoctoral research at Stanford University. Alexander holds a DPhil in plant sciences from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Durham University. Her presentation is: “Genetics and the future of skincare.” This talk will cover current innovations and innovators using genetics to personalize skin care products and also where the industry is heading.
• Christopher Caires Ph.D., chief innovation officer, Perricone MD. Caires earned his BS degree in creative studies from UC Santa Barbara, his PhD in organic chemistry from Stanford University, and his MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He began his career at Johnson & Johnson where he led the development of some of the most successful consumer products in the history of the Neutrogena brand, including Rapid Wrinkle Repair and Neutrogena Naturals. Following J&J, Caires worked at BASF leading many successful collaborative innovation projects with customers across the consumer, industrial, and medical industries.  At Perricone MD, he is responsible for developing and executing on the product and innovation strategy. His presentation is: “A cosmetic chemist’s guide to beauty supplements.”  The talk will be geared towards cosmetics professionals that want a crash course on some of the rules, regulations, and best practices of creating beauty supplements.

Also during the event, SRI International knowledge experts Michael Isnardi and David Berends will present: “Emerging Trends for Cosmetic Applications on Personal Devices.” 


Additional speaker bios and presentation information can be found on the SCC’s annual meeting website: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/sccannualmeeting71/489750/.

More info: www.scconline.com