Dr Ferguson graduated from Strathclyde University, Glasgow with Bsc (Hons) in Biology with chemistry and a PhD in Bioengineering.
He took employment in the cosmetics industry (Beecham Products, Leatherhead) to develop and test skin and sun care products and other cosmetics, and has now spent a total of 25 years in the industry.
Fifteen of those years were with The Boots Company in Nottingham in cosmetic development laboratories. This was followed by five years as R&D Director for Oriflame International in Dublin, Ireland.
Dr Ferguson established his own independent consulting and product development company (Skinnovation Ltd) in October 2000.
Dr Ferguson is a specialist in sun product development and testing, a field, which he has become internationally known. He has been active in industry committees defining sun product test methods. During his period at Boots, Dr Ferguson was jointly responsible for the development and introduction of the Boots UVA Star Rating System for sun products, which is used throughout UK and Ireland.
Jack has presented verbal and written papers on a number of topics in cosmetic science including sun protection, and has been a consultant on cosmetic product claims since May 2001 to Clearcast (formerly BACC).
Jack was a trustee and Hon Treasurer to FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experimentation) charity between January 2004 and November 2009.
Dr Dover gained his PhD at the Cancer Research Campaign’s Paterson laboratory in Manchester, where he studied growth, differentiation and radiation response in cultured skin.
He continued his research into the growth and differentiation of skin and hair, first at the University of Iowa USA, then at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London and Dermatology Department at the University of Oxford. He then moved to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, (now Cancer Research UK).
Dr Dover is currently an independent expert and has acted as a reviewer for a number of journals including the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, British Journal of Dermatology and Journal of Cell Science. His interests are in stem cell biology, growth control in the skin, study of cell proliferation in skin and hair and in vitro models of skin. Using organotypic models of skin he has performed grafts onto burns and other plastic surgery cases. Sex-mismatched grafts showed survival of some grafted cells at 2.5 years post grafting.
He has demonstrated proliferative heterogeneity in cultured cells, matching that of skin in vivo and consistent with stem cell models of skin organisation. He has developed methodologies for measuring proliferative activity and the rate of differentiation of cultured cells allowing investigations of the mode of action of various agents on skin growth.
BSc FRCP graduated from St Thomas’ Hospital in 1977. She also has a 1st class Honours degree in Anatomy.
Dr. Mayou is a Consultant Dermatologist with special interest in paediatric and cosmetic dermatology. She ran the paediatric dermatology clinic at the Chelsea and Westminster and the paediatric and adult clinic at Queen Mary’s Roehampton for 15 years and started the Cadogan Clinic in Chelsea with her plastic surgeon husband three years ago.
She is cofounder and secretary of the British Cosmetic Dermatology Group, an Honorary Lecturer at Imperial College London, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Member of the British Association of Dermatology and British Association of Paediatric Dermatology and spokesperson for and a Trustee of, the British Skin Foundation.
In clinical practice she sees children with atopic eczema, teenagers with acne and adults for mole checks and dermoscopic digital monitoring, skin cancer and performs non-invasive cosmetic procedures.
Dermatological Sciences, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, UK Molecular Dermatology, Molecular Aging, Skin Cancer
Mark Birch-Machin, Ph.D., is Professor of Molecular Dermatology at the Newcastle University Institute of Cellular Medicine. Prof. Birch-Machin pursued his Post-Doctoral career at the University of Oregon (USA), INSERM Paris, University of Toronto as well as Clinical Neuroscience and Biochemistry, Newcastle University (1986-1995) where he held several academic positions in the Department of Dermatology (1996-current). During this time, he was elected Treasurer of the British Society of Investigative Dermatology (BSID) and co-editor of Experimental Dermatology. He advanced to the position of Professor of Molecular Dermatology at Newcastle University in August 2005.
Prof. Birch-Machin’s research group focuses on the response of human skin to ultraviolet radiation particularly within the context of skin ageing and cancer. He also has particular interest in understanding the role of mitochondrial DNA in the treatment of psoriasis, in UV-induced oxidative stress, cancer and the relationship between oxidative stress, nutritional status and skin aging as well as the science and use of sunscreens. He has received research funding from Cancer Research UK, British Skin Foundation, BBSRC, MRC, EPSRC, Wellcome Trust, NESRF and the Royal Society. He has published more than 100 refereed scientific journals and books. In addition, he is also a co-inventor on multiple patents arising from the commercialization of parts of this research, including the invention of a product that sold in over a 1,000 stores in Canada as part of a spin out company which Mark co-founded. In 2010, Mark was awarded the Newcastle University Spirit of Entrepreneurship award. He has also founded a second company in August 2011 (Powerhouse Biologics Ltd) that looks at personalized nutrition. Mark was the founder and Programme Director of the Master of Research in Medical and Molecular Biosciences which is the flagship postgraduate programme in the Faculty of Medical Sciences.
Prof. Birch-Machin has been an internationally and nationally invited keynote speaker at numerous prestigious conferences and symposia. He has been Chair and a member) of several international and national Scientific/Biomedical Advisory Boards and is a member of the grants awarding committee for the British Skin Foundation as well as the Editorial board for Experimental Dermatology.
Prof. Birch-Machin is regularly a National Press Spokesperson on ‘Sunburnt DNA,’ DNA damage, skin ageing and skin cancer risk related to his role on Cancer Research UK’s Sun Smart Advisory Board and with the British Skin Foundation press office. His research and quotes on sun awareness have appeared on multiple European and American TV segments (including BBC, ITN, Sky, Discovery), more than 100 radio programs, online columns, over 130 national and local UK newspapers and over 100 popular magazine articles.
