Only 20% of skin ageing is due to chronological factors. The remaining 80% is caused by other external and internal factors that an individual is exposed to from birth and that affect health. This is what is known as the exposome. The causes of ageing that this concept comprises include solar radiation, tobacco and pollution, which lead to molecular processes that damage the cells and alter the structure of the skin. Diet, stress, lack of sleep and adverse weather conditions also have an effect on health in general and skin health in particular.
According to Susana Puig, “We are living longer these days, and we want to stay young and health for longer. By gaining a deeper understanding about the exposome and identifying the factors that have an impact on skin ageing, we’ll be able to help people to improve their health.” For this reason, the objective of the US-ISDIN Live Young Chair is to promote healthy lifestyles and to help find innovative solutions to reverse the effects of the exposome on people’s health, such as the damage caused by pollution and solar radiation.
The agreement signed will be valid for three years and will fund a doctoral student from the University of Barcelona to carry out work related to the chair, including a scientific analysis of all the biological (genetic and exposome), social, emotional and spiritual parameters, which affect health over time and are reflected in the appearance of the skin. The aim is to promote specific lifestyles and treatments that make it possible to lengthen the youthful appearance and the health of our skin. “This agreement will highlight the importance of public-private collaboration and, by extension, the collaboration between a model university and a leading laboratory such as ISDIN, to create synergies and ensure that all the knowledge we gain can have an impact on society,” explains Antoni Trilla, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona.
The UB-ISDIN Live Young Chair will have a monitoring committee, which will be made up of the rector of the University de Barcelona, Joan Guàrdia, the director of the chair, Susana Puig, two ISDIN directors, and two lecturers from the University of Barcelona. The experts’ working meetings will be cross-disciplinary and thus approach research into skin health with an integrating vision, taking into account all aspects of the individual and not just the biological factor.
