Welcome to the Centre for Skin Sciences

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/mjthornton

I am the Academic Director of the Centre for Skin Sciences (www.bradford.ac.uk/css), one of the most well known academic centres in Britain for research and teaching in skin science. The Centre has a faculty of internationally renowned scientists whose mission is to better understand skin and hair biology, to provide an exciting research environment for our graduate and post graduate students and to foster successful partnerships with companies developing innovative new products for consumers and patients. Our research explores the cellular and molecular processes underlying skin and hair biology in both health and disease including world leading research focussed on the role of epigenetic processes in skin and hair biology.

I am also the Academic lead for the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit (PSBRU)  a charity established in the aftermath of the fire disaster at the Bradford City football club in 1985

(www.bradford.ac.uk/css/psbru). Building on almost 35 years of research into wound healing and scarring, this long standing unit provides a strong foundation for our young doctors who set out to pursue a career in Plastic Surgery and encourages them to embark on innovative research projects that generate evidence for practising evidence-based medicine. The unit has trained a number of research fellows over the years, with many now working as established consultants in various parts of the UK.

As a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences I teach undergraduate and graduate students, and have a number of Ph.D. students working under my supervision. I am the option convenor for the Cellular Pathology specialist option in the final year of the undergraduate Biomedical Sciences programme and I am the module leader for the level 6 module, Research Topics in Medical Cell Biology.

I studied my PhD investigating "The role of hair follicles in wound repair" in the lab of Prof Mat Hardman at University of Manchester which I completed in 2012. Following this I spent 8 years as a postdoctoral researcher at Manchester, across the labs of Prof Hardman, Prof Ralf Paus group, then finally Prof Enrique Amaya. I set up my own group in 2020 when I joined University of Bradford as Lecturer in Skin Science.  I have authored 20 journal papers, which have received 491 journal citations. My h index is 11. I have research interests in a broad range of Skin Science topics. Current projects include ranging from wound healing, skin ageing, hair follicle biology and the skin microbiome.

Current research topics:

• Understanding how wound healing is altered under impaired conditions, which might lead to chronic wounds.
• Role of skin ageing and changes to vasculature on tissue viability - PhD project
• Studying the effect of biofilms and infection on skin integrity and wound repair.
• Hair follicle biology and Alopecia models

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/rbaker2

I have worked as a research assistant in the Centre for skin sciences since 2009. I have interests in in a wide range of lab-based methods from biochemical, cell biology to molecular biology and bioinformatics.

I am currently working on an industry funded project to develop hypotheses on cellular ageing in the female scalp.

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/mfessing

Michael Fessing received his BSc./MSc. in Biotechnology from the Lomonosov Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology and his PhD in Molecular Biology from Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia. Michael undertook his postdoctoral training at St Jude’s Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Tufts University and Boston University in Boston, MA, USA. 

Michael's major research interests involve epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation during skin development, homeostasis and regeneration. His current research is focused on the role of covalent DNA modifications and ATP dependent chromatin remodelling in skin and hair regeneration. Michael also studies how spatial genome organization controls gene transcription in skin epithelial stem cells and their differentiating progenies during skin development and homeostasis.  He has published 30 peer reviewed papers in high impact international scientific journals and books. Michael has been a member of the organizing committee for the International Symposia on Epigenetic Regulation of Skin Regeneration, Ageing and Disease which were held in Bradford, both in 2012 and 2016.

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https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/skauser

I graduated from the University of Bradford with a first class hons degree in Biomedical Sciences. My PhD thesis was in pigmentation biology looking at the regulation of hair follicle melanocyte biology by pro-opiomelanocortin derived peptides.

My research interests focus on the regulators of hair pigmentation, melanocyte ageing and hair greying and the mechanisms that regulate these. I am co-supervising a PhD looking at skin and hair ageing.

My teaching responsibilities include Year 2 Tutor for the Biomedical Science degree course as well as module leadership for undergraduate (Pathology, Developing Professional Skills 2) and post-graduate (Critical Appraisal of a current Topic in Biomedical Sciences) modules. I am currently involved in developing a Cosmetic Sciences specialism in the courses we presently run.

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https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/amardaryev

Dr Andrei Mardaryev graduated from the Chuvash University School of Medicine (Russia) in 2003. After two years of surgical training, Dr Mardaryev moved to the Department of Dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine (USA), I received my PhD from the University of Bradford, with a thesis entitled “The role of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein signalling in skin carcinogenesis”. Dr Mardaryev now Lecturers in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Centre for Skin Sciences (Bradford). Currently, research of my lab is focused on the delineating the role of epigenetic factors in the regulation of epidermal regeneration and hair follicle growth.

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/kpoterlowicz1

Dr Poterlowicz graduated in mathematics and applied statistics at the Wroclaw University in Poland. He further continued his education at the University of Bradford studying computational modelling of the yeast cell cycle and obtained a MPhil degree in Bioinformatics. 

In 2009 he visited the Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council Canada where his research involved computer simulation of molecular signalling cascades governing the development and differentiation of skin appendages. 

In 2010 he was awarded a ESPRC PhD fellowship in the Centre of Skin Sciences,  University of Bradford. This allowed him to develop an expertise in bioinformatics and computational biology of transcriptional and epigenetic regulation in the epidermis. His PhD research project on the  bioinformatics analyses of multi-level transcriptional  and epigenetic regulation of  epidermis together with internal and external collaborations resulted in a number of published articles in journals such as Journal of Cell Biology, FASEB, Development and Journalof Investigative Dermatology. Dr Poterlowicz was awarded the Best Paper Prize at the World Congress of Hair Research in Edinburgh in 2013. The same year he joined the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Bradford asa Lecturer in Bioinformatics. Dr Poterlowicz teaches computational biology, medical genetics and statistics and actes as a personal tutor to first year students of the biomedical science undergraduate program. He is a research active academic with interest in the identification of novel genomics biomarkers that influence tissue development and disease. He is involved in the international scientific collaborations (MRC UK-China Stem Cell Partnership Initiative grant) and his research is regulatory published in peer-review journals. Dr Poterlowicz actively works in the international   focus groups with aim to develop and provide bioinformatics and medical informatics training for biomedical students and staff. He is an Associate Member of the EpiGenSys and a Member of the Royal Society of Biology.

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/kriches

I studied undergraduate BSc (Hons) Biology (Molecular and Cellular) at the University of Huddersfield and graduated with first class honours in 2003. I then worked at the University of Bradford as a research technician until 2005, when I started my PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Leeds under the supervision of Dr Karen Porter and Prof Chris Peers. My work during this time resulted in 3 publications and multiple awards at national and international conferences. After completing my PhD in early 2009, I worked as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Porter lab. This gave me essential training not only in various laboratory techniques, but also in composing grant applications, writing papers, establishing collaborations and supervising students. In November 2015 I started at the University of Bradford as a Lecturer in Biochemistry. In 2018 I graduated with a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice (distinction) and was awarded fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. In 2018 I my specialism changed to Lecturer in Biomedical Science to better reflect the teaching that I undertake. 

I am co-lead together with Prof Julie Thornton of the Plastic Surgery and Burns Research Unit

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/sksikkink

My research interests include oxidative stress and anti-oxidant systems; skin and hair follicle pigmentation and ageing processes. My role involves developing novel technical insights and benefits for skin and skin appendages using translational research. Day to day I work closely with academic members of staff and the CSS business manager on projects funded by industry. This includes conducting and developing laboratory based assays to investigate the effects of bioactive compounds on skin and its appendages including hair follicles and investigating the biology of skin and hair follicles in response to genetic, biological and environmental factors. My previous research experience was in cell-signaling pathways in skin (particularly psoriasis) and protein function/interactions in multiple cell types.

Career history

B.Sc. Applied Biology with Honours, Sunderland University

M.Phil. Molecular Genetics of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer, Newcastle University

Ph.D. Genetic Pathology of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Liverpool University

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/rwilliams12

I studied Biomedical Sciences, both at undergraduate and masters level because it's is a subject translatable to several different career paths. I chose to study here because the course is externally accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Sciences and has a good reputation.

My masters research project investigated wound healing in human skin.  My combined interest in skin research and the beauty industry, led me to apply for a post as a research technician here, in the Centre for Skin Sciences (CSS). As a research technician I work on industrial funded research projects. Shortly after starting I was assigned to a project with the company Aveda. During this project both the university and the company supported my enrolment for a part time PhD.

My PhD topic is in identifying age-related changes within the female scalp with Dr Julie Thornton. While much is known about facial ageing and the mechanisms behind it, to date little attention has been paid to scalp ageing. We know hair becomes sparser, thinner and brittle with age, so we are investigating what is happening within the scalp, and working with Aveda on how this can lead to possible interventions.

I’m privileged to be working with inspiring research active academics. I’ve also had the fantastic opportunity to work in the Aveda laboratories in the USA, as well as presenting my work at conferences in Europe and the USA.  This is my fourth year collaborating with Aveda and the second year of my PhD.

It's challenging keep up with new developments in this field, and writing comprehensive reports for the company, but is a nice change from laboratory work and  my supervisor and colleagues are very supportive.

I have access to excellent laboratory facilities and great training opportunities; I am currently learning about bio-informatics to help analyse my data.

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/kswaminathan

My research interests span from cell-adhesion biology (melanogenesis and cancer metastasis) to microbiome mapping on human skin.

I established my independent research laboratory at Centre for Skin Sciences, University of Bradford in December 2019 when I was appointed as Lecturer in Skin Sciences. 

During my PhD (University of Cologne) and postdoctoral training (CRUK, Glasgow), my research was focused on delineating how actin cytoskeletal machinery controls normal tissue development and its impact on disease. I have published several high impact publications [12 outputs, 8 H-index] and gained international recognition.

During my postdoctoral training, I began to develop research independence and successfully secured competitive Wellcome Trust ISSF Award as a Principal Investigator and since joining the university in 2019, I secured both internal and external funding (Royal Society) to support pilot research to generate preliminary data.

Cell attachment to the extracellular matrix (cell adhesion) is an indispensable process for normal tissue development and its aberrant regulation leads to pathological manifestations such as cancer. The cell adhesion process relies on coordinated activation of multiple proteins and signalling pathways, ultimately leading to rearrangement of the cellular cytoskeleton establishing a reciprocal communication with the extracellular matrix. While we know the molecular pathways involved in cytoskeletal regulation during cell adhesion, the underlying mechanisms of their regulations has not been elucidated. 

https://www.bradford.ac.uk/staff/crgwillis