UK Professor Wins Chanel-CE.R.I.E.S Research Award

Chanel Research has named UK professor David Kelsell, Ph.D. as the winner of the Chanel-CE.R.I.E.S Research Award 2016 for his trail-blazing work in skin molecular mechanisms.
 
Thef €40,000 award is intended to honor the accomplishments of a scientific researcher with a proven track record in fundamental or clinical research work and to encourage his or her continued research activity. The field of research concerns the physiology or biology of healthy skin and/or its reactions to environmental factors.
 
“The Chanel-CE.R.I.E.S Research Award was created in 1996 to support innovative skin research projects and enrich global understanding of healthy skin,” comments Christian Mahé, senior vice president beauty research and innovation. “`We are extremely proud to support our laureate's ground-breaking project and look forward to sharing his future findings.”
 
Kelsell is deputy director of research at the Blizard Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London.  His research focuses on new insights into the molecular mechanisms responsible for maintaining and correcting the skin's balance.
 
“Professor Kelsell's research will focus on the presumptive role of iRHOM2 as a master regulator of stress responses in skin,” said Professor Barbara Gilchrest, department of dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and president of the CERIES Scientific Advisory Board which selects the annual Awardees.   “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.”
 
“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,” noted Kelsell. “Receiving this award is truly a personal honour 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.”