Honors for scientists

Society of Cosmetic Chemists lauds research into role of clock genes

The effects of active ingredient treatment over 16 days and the resulting skin regeneration.

Dr. Isabelle Imbert, global technical manager at Ashland's Vincience skin research center in Sophia Antipolis, France, is the winner of the Hans A. Schaeffer Award for 2011. The annual award is presented by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists to the most innovative scientific presentation of the year at an SCC annual meeting or seminar.

Dr. Imbert’s presentation, “The role of Clock and SIRT-1 in chromatin remodeling: a new code of entry for DNA repair,” was a highlight of the annual SCC seminar in May 2011. The groundbreaking research discussed in the presentation provides new insights to support the key role of clock genes in controlling cellular functions such as DNA protection and repair. These genes affect the brain’s suprachiasmic nucleus and, ultimately, a person’s biological, physiological or behavioral processes.  

The presentation details how clock genes also regulate functions such as DNA repair in human skin. Researchers treated sunburn skin cells and discovered that modulating clock genes could improve cellular metabolism. These findings offer exciting new possibilities for future cosmetic applications and innovative anti-aging treatments.

Dr. Imbert holds a doctorate in molecular and cellular biology from the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Montpellier, France. She specialized in cancer research at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and has since led research projects adapting the latest breakthroughs in biology and molecular sciences to the cosmetic industry.

The award was presented in December 2011 at the organization's meeting in New York City.

Dr. Isabelle Imbert

. Co-authors, from left, Gopi Menon, Joel Mantelin,  Nouha Domloge and Jean-Marie Botto