Keynote Speakers

Principal Investigator of the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), Universidad de Murcia (Spain)

Senior Vice President Bioscience, Global R&D, The Estée Lauder Companies (United States)

Senior Researcher, Research, Development & Innovation, Belcorp (Colombia)

CEO & co-Founder, VRPharma Immersive Technologies (Spain)

Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami (United States)

Vice President R&I L’Oréal for the Future
& Green Sciences, L’Oréal (France)

Translational Synthetic Biology Research Group Leader, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain)

Vice President Business Core Technology Manager, Shiseido (Japan)

ICREA Research Professor at Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC – ICM (Spain)

Dr. Nadine Pernodet

Senior Vice President Bioscience, Global R&D, The Estée Lauder Companies (United States)

Dr. Nadine Pernodet is Senior ELC Fellow and Senior Vice President AT Bioscience at the Estee Lauder Companies (ELC). Dr Pernodet is leading Global Bioscience Group including Fermentation and Bioactives as well as the Academic collaboration network. Dr Pernodet is also the lead scientist to the Estee Lauder brand and serves as their scientific advisor, innovator, and spokesperson.

Nadine joined ELC in 2007, and since then has created an extensive track record of product innovation that has helped to transform the Beauty business and delivering innovations that have fueled iconic hero products and new products. As head of
Bioscience group, she has created a continuous stream of new scientific insights that have driven a pipeline of efficacious active ingredients, new claims, new concepts, and new scientific communications and credentialing for successful global skincare launches such as Advanced Night Repair, Perfectionist Pro- franchise, Supreme and Re-Nutriv Diamond… Resulting from these innovations, the Estee Lauder brand was awarded the Prestigious International Marie-Claire Prix d’Excellence for Research and
Innovation in 2017, 2019 and 2021. Her technical leadership has driven new ELC’s internal capabilities, developing new methods to research, identify and support new technologies. She has also built new collaborations and partnerships and is recognized externally as an expert in Skin Biology. Her unique approach to the science of Beauty is to combine her extensive background in biophysics and biology to better understand skin bionetworks and to approach research through an interdisciplinary lens. She has been at the forefront of the research in Mechanobiology, Epigenetics, Circadian Rhythm (clock genes),Sirtuins, and Systems Biology.

Dr Pernodet has been actively involved in scientific research for more than 20 years in the private sector, as well as in Academia. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications/chapters in journals and been co-inventor on over 36 patent families with over 130 worldwide submissions.

Prior to ELC, Dr Pernodet was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University in Materials Science & Engineering, Molecular, and Chemical Engineering and now serves as Adjunct Professor for the Chemical Engineering program. Nadine received her Ph.D. with distinction in Physical Chemistry from Louis Pasteur University and is originally from France.

John Jiménez

Senior Researcher, Research, Development & Innovation, Belcorp (Colombia)

John Jiménez is a Pharmacist (National University of Colombia) with a master’s in Sustainable Development (Escuela de Organización Industrial EOI, Madrid) and specialization studies in Marketing (Universidad Externado, Bogotá), Applied Neuromarketing (Universitat de Barcelona) and the Certificate in Higher Education in Cosmetic Science (SCS – De Montfort University, UK). He has 30 scientific publications and a book chapter in cosmetic formulation. Awards: Maison G de Navarre Prize (IFSCC USA Congress 2004), Henry Maso Award (IFSCC Congress USA 2016) and best scientific paper at Colamiqc Ecuador 2009, Colamiqc Brazil 2013 and Farmacosmética Colombia 2014. He also has been speaker at various conferences in USA, Europe and Latin America. He frequently delivers innovation courses to some universities in Colombia.

John has worked extensively in cosmetic innovation. He is a blue-sky thinker, trend hunter, and is passionate about application of neuromarketing techniques in cosmetics development. He loves doing synesthetic wine tastings and he will receive soon the title of International Sommelier from the Wine Institute of Argentina.

Since 2013, John has written a trends column for Cosmetics & Toiletries Brazil, since 2019 a trends column for In-Cosmetics Connect and since 2020, a column on neuromarketing for Eurocosmetics.

Jiménez is serving on the Scientific Advisory Board for Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine and additionally served as president of Accytec Bogotá (2017-2019). He joined Belcorp in 2005 and currently is Senior Researcher for skincare, suncare and personal care categories. Before joining Belcorp, he worked in Laboratorios Esko, Whitehall AH Robins and Fresenius Medical Care in Colombia.

Mireia Cigarrán

CEO & co-Founder, VRPharma Immersive Technologies (Spain)

Mireia Cigarrán is an entrepreneur and public speaker with a passion for science and technology. She is the Founder and CEO of VRPharma Immersive Technologies, a company that leverages the power of virtual reality technology to transform the way people experience healthcare – focusing on mental and emotional wellbeing. Mireia was born and raised in Barcelona and pursued her education at the Institut Químic de Sarrià, where she earned a degree in Chemical and Industrial Engineering, and later MBA graduate.

With a deep understanding of virtual reality technology and its potential to improve healthcare outcomes, Mireia co-founded VRPharma with the mission to enhance patient experiences in hospitals through the use of sustainable virtual reality solutions. The company has since become a leader in this field, helping children, adults, and seniors to reduce their anxiety and pain during medical treatments.

With all her trajectory, in 2022, she was awarded the prestigious DonaTIC award for best tech female entrepreneur in Catalonia.

Prof. Ralf Paus

Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami (United States)

Ralf Paus is a German physician-scientist, who started his work in basic and translational hair research after medical school (Würzburg, Vienna, Berlin) as a post- doctoral research fellow at Yale University, USA (1987-90). Upon his return to Germany, Ralf trained as academic dermatologist in Berlin and held his last, predominantly clinical position as Vice Chair, Dept. of Dermatology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany (1999-2004).

Since 2005 he has focused on preclinical human skin and hair research, with emphasis on hair follicle biology and pathology, as Head of Experimental Dermatology at the University of Lübeck, Germany (2005-2013) and as Professor of Cutaneous Medicine, University of Manchester, UK (2008-2021), where he was awarded a Doctor of Science degree for his body of work on hair follicle neuroendocrinology. Since 2018 Ralf’s main affiliation is as Research Professor of Dermatology and Director, Dermatology Academic Training Program, Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.

Besides having served as Editor of Experimental Dermatology (2007-2021), Ralf also is Founder & President of Monasterium Laboratory in his home town, Münster/Germany, and Founder & CEO of CUTANEON – Skin & Hair Innovations, Hamburg/Germany. In his research (>700 publications, H-index: >108 Scopus), Ralf has long been fascinated by hair follicle neurophysiology. In this context, he will report recent findings of his lab on how human scalp hair follicles use ancient chemosensory receptors to regulate their function, and how these receptors can be targeted to modulate human hair growth.

Dr. Ana Kljuic

Vice President R&I L’Oréal for the Future & Green Sciences, L’Oréal (France)

Fascinated by nature and the way it always finds the most elegant solutions to problems, Ana Kljuic is a true scientific spirit. Her job at L’Oréal allows her to stimulate her curiosity while having a positive impact on people and the planet. Being a key agent of change and creating joy through beauty is what motivates her every day.

Ana Kljuic holds a PhD and post-doc in Genetics and Dermatology from Columbia University. During her career at L’Oréal, she has become a cosmetic expert with demonstrated skills in consumer products, product development, research, innovation, and Life Science. As the leader for R&I of L’Oréal’s sustainability program “L’Oréal for the Future”, her mission is now to guide the R&I teams towards the achievement of the Group’s 2030 sustainability commitments in order to promote high-performance formulations inspired by nature and respectful of planetary boundaries.

Ana joined L’Oréal in 2004 as part of the accelerated management program R&D Explorer. During the past 18 years, she had the opportunity to pioneer many topics and gain experience in all divisions of the Group. She directed the Natural & Organic Métier from 2013 to 2017. In 2020, she created the R&I Emerging Markets Hub, aiming at achieving a better understanding of consumers in India, South Africa, and Brazil, in order to foster inclusive innovation at L’Oréal. In 2022, she was named head of the newly created L’Oréal for the Future and Green Sciences Department, where she now acts for the definition and achievement of the Group’s sustainability commitments.

Dr. Marc Güell

Translational Synthetic Biology Research Group Leader, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain)

PhD in Biomedicine from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF, Barcelona, Spain), Marc Güell has dedicated a large part of his career to translational science. He pursued his doctorate research at the EMBL (Heidelberg, Germany) and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG, Barcelona, Spain), and his post-doctoral research at the Harvard University Wyss Institute (Boston, USA). He is currently Principal Investigator at the Translational Synthetic Biology Lab and ‘tenure-track’ professor at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). Marc has a strong record of original, solid, ambitious, and scientifically and socially relevant research. Marc Güell’s work includes several synthetic biology breakthroughs (novel technologies for gene writing, first in vivo skin microbiome modulation, highest number of simultaneous CRISPR edits, most recoded genome, PERVs-free pigs) that have produced a tremendous impact: more than 16,000 citations, 3 companies developing therapies (S-biomedic in skin microbiome -recently acquired by Beiersdorf-; eGenesis in xenotransplantation; Integra Therapeutics (Tx) in gene therapy -FiCAT technology - this latter was just launched as spin off from his lab with a 6M EUR seed fund in December’21), and patents licensed to leading companies. Marc Güell and his team are currently developing new principles and tools that could revolutionize therapeutic approaches to several medical conditions.

Marc Güell obtained the National Research Award to the Young talent (Catalan Government, 2018), the Highly Cited Researcher distinction (Web of Science, 2019), EMBO Young Investigator Award (EMBO, 2020), the August Pi i Sunyer Award (Institut of Catalan Studies, 2021) and the National Science Award Ángela Ruiz Robles (Spanish Government, 2022).

Dr. Kentaro Kajiya

Vice President Business Core Technology Manager, Shiseido (Japan)

PhD from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Dr. Kentaro Kajiya started his career at Shiseido in 2001, focusing on research on skin aging. The turning point for him was the research on the functional analysis of cutaneous lymphatic vessels that he started at Cutaneous Biology Research Center/MGH and Harvard Medical School and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology from 2003 to 2005.

In addition to clarifying the importance of lymphatic vascular function in skin aging, he has been one of the first to elucidate the role of the circulatory system, including capillaries. Recently, he has focused on the fact that skin disorders are caused by lifestyle changes and has proposed solutions to achieve holistic beauty by clarifying the effects of circulation, immunity, and nerve system on the skin. He produced research that won the IFSCC Award twice, in 2017 and 2019.

He has been a Vice President of Business Core Technology Center (Basic Research Center) in Shiseido Co. Ltd. since January 2022.

Dr. Carles Pelejero

ICREA Research Professor at Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC – ICM (Spain)

Since 2006, Carles Pelejero’s main affiliation is as ICREA Research Professor at Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), CSIC, Barcelona. He holds a BSc in Chemical Sciences (1991) and a PhD in Chemistry (2000). In 1992, he spent a year at the Atmospheric Sciences Department of the University of Arizona (Tucson, US) and, between 2001 and 2005, he did a postdoctoral stay at the Research School of Earth Sciences of the Australian National University and at Geoscience Australia (Canberra, Australia). He coordinates the Research Group on Marine Biogeochemistry and Global Change (Generalitat de Catalunya) and is a member of the Group of Experts on Climate Change in Catalonia. He has participated in ~100 publications in the fields of experimental biology, marine biology, biogeochemistry, paleoclimatology, paleoceanography and organic and inorganic geochemistry, including articles in Science, Nature Climate Change, TREE, Nature Geoscience, Nature Communications and PNAS. He directed research projects in Australia and Spain, and has been reviewer of the 4th, 5th and 6th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports.

His research focuses on understanding and quantifying changes in the climate and the marine environment, both modern and in the past. To study the past, Carles analyzes the geochemistry of marine sediment cores and corals, which he uses as archives. To study the present, Carles is involved in instrumental time-series of physicochemical parameters of seawater at fixed stations or through participation in oceanographic cruises and carries out experiments to manipulate environmental parameters in aquaria, to evaluate possible effects of global change on marine organisms.

Prof. Paco Calvo

Principal Investigator of the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINT Lab), Universidad de Murcia (Spain)