Who we are

Skin Forum UK Focus Group.

Why is skin research so important? Skin research is essential for two quite different reasons. On the one hand the cosmetics industry is gargantuan. According to OrbisResearch.com, the global cosmetics market is expected to reach an astonishing USD 805.61 billion by 2023. Formulations are becoming increasingly competitive and sophisticated, but need to comply with the parameters of cosmetics legislation and remain topical. On the other hand, an improvement in the transdermal delivery of drug products could potentially provide an alternative delivery system, avoiding first pass metabolism and some of the gastro-intestinal side effects of oral delivery. The Skin Forum UK Focus Group provides a framework for linking many specialists and enabling collaborative learning for all.

The purpose of the Skin Forum UK is to bring together scientists from both academia and industry to facilitate learning in relation to topical and transdermal applications.

Director of the Skin Research Group (UCL) and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. Dr Lane was educated in Trinity College, Dublin where she obtained her BSc (Pharmacy) and PhD degrees. She has previously held academic posts in Trinity College, Dublin and is a Visiting Scientist at the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan. She is still involved in lecturing and in the supervision of PhD students. Major collaborators include Professor Jonathan Hadgraft; Professor Sergei Kazarian (Imperial College, London); Professor Jeanetta du Plessis (North West University, South Africa); Dr Roy Dalmo (Department of Marine Biotechnology, University of Tromso); Professor Brian Adair (Department of Veterinary Science, Queen’s University of Belfast). Dr Lane and Professor Hadgraft host a number of visiting scientists from their collaborator institutes and also host visiting industrial scientists who wish to develop expertise in their laboratories. Dr Lane has more than 20 years’ experience in formulating topical and transdermal products and acts as a consultant to a number of pharmaceutical companies. To date she has acted as reviewer for the following pharmaceutical science journals: International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, Journal of Drug Targeting, Molecular Pharmaceutics, and Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism and Toxicology.

Bruno is a pharmacist who moved from Lisbon to London in order to pursue a PhD in Medicinal Organic Chemistry, following his 6-year PharmD degree at the Egas Moniz Higher Institute of Health Sciences (ISCSEM). After being granted his doctorate diploma from University College London (UCL), Bruno established his career as a postdoctoral research fellow in different research groups. His work has led to the translation of knowledge between the fields of pharmaceutics, chemistry and new emerging technologies (ie additive manufacturing). Bruno has gained valuable pharmaceutical industry experience working for companies such as Recipharm and GlaxoSmithKline. He still keeps close ties with the latter as an associate researcher for the UCL Skin Research Group and member of the editorial board for the International Journal of Cosmetic Science. Bruno continues to collaborate with these prestigious landmarks in topical and transdermal drug development.