Christine Esposito, Managing Editor07.02.20
Earlier this month, to further advance more than a decade of circadian rhythm research in skin, Estée Lauder Research & Development announced an exclusive collaboration with Dr. Paolo Sassone-Corsi, director for the Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism at UC-Irvine.
Sassone-Corsi is a world leader in epigenetics and the body clock.
According to Dr. Nadine Pernodet, vice president, skin biology and bioactives R&D at the Estée Lauder Companies and Estée Lauder lead scientist, Sassone-Corsi has brought many firsts to the field of epigenetics and Lauder’s laboratory has pioneered research in skin biology. This new collaboration, she said, will enable the two to explore common interests and complementary research that will help further their understanding of what is happening in the skin.
The work with the Sassone-Corsi lab will build upon Estée Lauder's skin research and contribute to its recent findings by investigating additional molecular mechanisms related to a newly identified micro signaling molecule, MicroRNA 146A.
The labs will independently explore the interaction between this molecule and other skin activities, including circadian machinery, to deepen the understanding of how skin acts and communicates. This research, according to Lauder, seeks new information about how the molecule interacts with essential skin pathways, in order to better understand how to impact the "memory" of skin to help it act and look younger.
The Estée Lauder brand is funding the research between the two labs, said Pernodet.
And as with many other plans in 2020, COVID-19 has impacted the calendar they had in place. According Pernodet, both teams were ready to dive into experiments right as the pandemic hit. Yet, there is an upside to the shutdown: it give both groups time to exchange more ideas.
“It has helped us focus on a few points, “ she told Happi.
The teams will work collaboratively, and in each other’s labs, according to Pernodet, who said the staff’s personalities mesh well—which no doubt gets them out of the gate fast when things return to normal and research ramps up.
Bringing together scientists with different areas of expertise will lead to new developments.
“We don’t know everything. We aren’t experts in every field. We know skin. These experts study epigenetics—and they can help us better understand different epigenetics signals,” said Pernodet, who had met Sassone-Corsi years earlier and has been familiar with his research through various scientific platforms. Sassone-Corsi has published several hundred peer-reviewed articles, and has many international scientific awards.
Over the past three decades, Sassone-Corsi has conducted research focused on unraveling how epigenetics is critical for healthy lifespan, wellbeing, appropriate circadian sleep cycles, aging and disease prevention. His seminal discoveries have changed the circadian clock paradigm, proving the existence of secondary clocks that control peripheral tissues throughout the body. Further, research conducted in the Sassone-Corsi Laboratory has charted new territory in understanding how circadian clocks communicate to synchronize cellular processes, linking epigenetics and metabolism in a vast array of biological systems.
Want to get to know more about Sasson-Corsi? Check out “Nightbirds: The Magic of Night,” a film by the Austin Advisory Group. In this film, he joins other experts in their fields to discuss the importance of night to recovery.
Sassone-Corsi is a world leader in epigenetics and the body clock.
According to Dr. Nadine Pernodet, vice president, skin biology and bioactives R&D at the Estée Lauder Companies and Estée Lauder lead scientist, Sassone-Corsi has brought many firsts to the field of epigenetics and Lauder’s laboratory has pioneered research in skin biology. This new collaboration, she said, will enable the two to explore common interests and complementary research that will help further their understanding of what is happening in the skin.
The work with the Sassone-Corsi lab will build upon Estée Lauder's skin research and contribute to its recent findings by investigating additional molecular mechanisms related to a newly identified micro signaling molecule, MicroRNA 146A.
The labs will independently explore the interaction between this molecule and other skin activities, including circadian machinery, to deepen the understanding of how skin acts and communicates. This research, according to Lauder, seeks new information about how the molecule interacts with essential skin pathways, in order to better understand how to impact the "memory" of skin to help it act and look younger.
The Estée Lauder brand is funding the research between the two labs, said Pernodet.
And as with many other plans in 2020, COVID-19 has impacted the calendar they had in place. According Pernodet, both teams were ready to dive into experiments right as the pandemic hit. Yet, there is an upside to the shutdown: it give both groups time to exchange more ideas.
“It has helped us focus on a few points, “ she told Happi.
The teams will work collaboratively, and in each other’s labs, according to Pernodet, who said the staff’s personalities mesh well—which no doubt gets them out of the gate fast when things return to normal and research ramps up.
Bringing together scientists with different areas of expertise will lead to new developments.
“We don’t know everything. We aren’t experts in every field. We know skin. These experts study epigenetics—and they can help us better understand different epigenetics signals,” said Pernodet, who had met Sassone-Corsi years earlier and has been familiar with his research through various scientific platforms. Sassone-Corsi has published several hundred peer-reviewed articles, and has many international scientific awards.
Over the past three decades, Sassone-Corsi has conducted research focused on unraveling how epigenetics is critical for healthy lifespan, wellbeing, appropriate circadian sleep cycles, aging and disease prevention. His seminal discoveries have changed the circadian clock paradigm, proving the existence of secondary clocks that control peripheral tissues throughout the body. Further, research conducted in the Sassone-Corsi Laboratory has charted new territory in understanding how circadian clocks communicate to synchronize cellular processes, linking epigenetics and metabolism in a vast array of biological systems.
Want to get to know more about Sasson-Corsi? Check out “Nightbirds: The Magic of Night,” a film by the Austin Advisory Group. In this film, he joins other experts in their fields to discuss the importance of night to recovery.