Over the years, Nu Skin has partnered with scientific institutions around the world to research and develop cutting-edge products and technologies.
The Nu Skin Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) brings together the wealth of experience and outstanding achievements of the world's most eminent experts in science and pharmaceutics. These leaders in their individual fields help Nu Skin in research and develop different products, and to conduct clinical tests in major universities and research institutes around the world.
In 2009, the Nu Skin and Pharmanex labs in Provo, Utah, were renamed as the Nu Skin Enterprises Center for Anti-Aging Research. The facility’s new name reflects the company’s commitment to focus on developing anti-aging science to incorporate into both personal care and nutritional products. This important research facility is one of three global research centers and houses nearly 50 in-house scientists and $1.75 million of equipment. Our team of in-house scientists located in three global research centers – Beijing, Shanghai and Provo, Utah - demonstrates our commitment to research and development by collaborating with multiple leading research institutions.
Recently, Nu Skin developed two key research partnerships with Stanford University and LifeGen Technologies. Researchers at Stanford have focused on profiling gene expression during human development and aging, and they have also explored novel modes of gene control in aging skin. In addition, Nu Skin is the only direct selling company to partner with LifeGen Technologies, a company backed by over 30 years of expertise in methods for extending life, whose founders have published more than 200 scientific papers. Our exclusive partnership with LifeGen Technologies gives Nu Skin access to more than 30 years of research into the genetic basis of aging. LifeGen's pioneering research combined with Nu Skin's ongoing research will allow us to use this knowledge to develop innovative, proprietary products far into the future.
Lars Bohlin, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacognosy, University of Uppsala, Sweden
For more than 30 years, Dr. Bohlin has been dedicated to studying, researching, and teaching in the field of pharmacognosy. He earned his M.S. degree in Pharmacy at the Royal Institute of Pharmacy in Stockholm in 1972. Then in 1978, he earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy at the University of Uppsala. After his post-doctoral training, together with Professor Carl Djerassi and Paul J. Sheuer, USA, Dr. Bohlin developed marine pharmacognosy in Sweden with the aim to identify structure-activity relationships with potential in drug discovery. He is widely consulted as an expert by both private and public organizations, such as several research councils in Europe. He is subject editor for Phytochemistry Letters and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Journal of Natural Products, Planta Medica, and Phytomedicine. He has co-authored more than 130 research articles, reviews, and book chapters. In 2010, he co-authored the sixth edition of the pharmacognosy textbook, “Drugs of Natural Origin—A Treatise of Pharmacognosy.” Dr. Bohlin is also involved in several patent applications and commercial development of bioactive natural products.
Michael N. Chang, Ph.D.
Pharmaceutical Science Advisor
Dr. Chang received a Ph.D. and M.S in Organic Chemistry from Brandeis University and postdoctoral from MIT. As a scientific advisor to Nu Skin, Dr. Chang is an expert in supplement development. He served as the CEO and president of Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Vice President of Research and Development for Pharmanex, the Director of Medical Chemistry at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, and Deputy Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Merck. He has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical experience and his previous management responsibilities include the direction of several drug discovery projects and IND submissions. His research has resulted in 35 patents and has been the topic of more than 60 articles published in peer-review journals.
Paul Alan Cox, Ph.D.
Director of the Institute for Ethnomedicine
One of the world’s top ethnobotanists, Dr. Cox specializes in the use of plants by indigenous cultures. During his career, he has published more than 150 scientific articles and three books. Dr. Cox received his M.S. in Ecology at the University of Wales as a Fullbright Fellow. In 1978, Dr. Cox entered Harvard as a Danforth Fellow and National Science Foundation Fellow, and in 1981 he received his Ph.D. in biology. He was later awarded a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award by President Ronald Reagan. Currently, Dr. Cox serves as Chairman of the Seacology Foundation, an organization he founded to assist in preserving island rain forests and cultures.
Carl Djerassi, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Stanford University
Carl Djerassi is one of the few American scientists to have been awarded both the National Medal of Science (for his work on the birth control pill) and the National Medal of Technology (for promoting new approaches to insect control). Dr. Djerassi earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in 1945. A member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as many foreign academies, Djerassi has received 21 honorary doctorates together with numerous other honors, including the first Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the first Award for the Industrial Application of Science from the National Academy of Sciences, the Erasmus Medal of the Academia Europeae, the Perkin Medal of the Society for Chemical Industry, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Chemists, and the American Chemical Society’s highest award, the Priestley Medal.
Zoe Diana Draelos, M.D., F.A.A.D.
Dermatologist and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology
Dr. Draelos is a practicing, board-certified dermatologist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology with a research interest in cosmetics, toiletries and biologically active skin medications. She is a consulting professor in the Department of Dermatology at Duke University School of Medicine and has a clinical practice in High Point, N.C. She has been a visiting professor at more than 45 medical institutions nationally and internationally. She is the author of nine textbooks, including Cosmetics in Dermatology. Dr. Draelos has contributed chapters to 23 textbooks, written 300 published papers, and currently serves on eight journal editorial boards. In 2006, she received a cosmetics industry lifetime achievement award from Health Beauty America for her research contributions in topical formulations.
Dr. David Bearss, Ph.D.
Chief scientific officer, SuperGen, Brigham Young University, University of Texas
Dr. Bearss is an expert in the regulation of gene expression andthe role of genes in cell function, and brings more than 15 years ofresearch experience to Nu Skin’s advisory board. He has extensiveexperience in genetic model systems and small molecule drugdevelopment, published more than 50 manuscripts and book chapters andhas more than 20 patents issued or pending. As a doctoral student, hewas recognized with the AACR/AFLAC Young Investigator Scholars inCancer Research Award and the David Carrillo Memorial Fellowship.
Dr.Bearss is currently co-director of the Center for InvestigationalTherapeutics at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, as well as a researchassociate professor at the University of Utah. His research focuses ongenetic model systems to support small molecule drug development. In2003, Dr. Bearss founded Montigen Pharmaceuticals, a small-moleculedrug discovery and development company and was the company’s chiefscientific officer. He subsequently held the same position at SuperGen.
Aftercompleting a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Brigham YoungUniversity, Dr. Bearss attended the University of Texas, where heearned a Ph.D. in cellular and structural biology.
Georges Halpern, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Dr. Halpern practiced internal medicine, allergy and immunology in Paris (1964-1987), and conducted research in allergy, immunology, psychopharmacology, nutrition, and public health. Since 1964, Dr. Halpern has lectured in more than 79 countries, specializing in allergy and control of environment, immunology, infectious diseases, nutrition, health benefits of wine, psychopharmacology, psychosocial interactions, and many other fi elds related to healthcare. After running a seminar for the Chinese Academy of Sciences in November 2002, he was offered a Distinguished Professorship by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology. He currently serves in the directorate of the State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology in Shenzhen, China.
Stuart K. Kim, M.D.
Professor of Developmental Biology and Genetics, Stanford University
Stuart K. Kim, Ph.D., is a professor of Developmental Biology and Genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine, as well as a faculty affiliate to the Stanford Center on Longevity. As a researcher he has developed DNA microarrays for C. elegans and used them to profile gene expression during development and aging. He has also assembled large data sets from microarray experiments, and used them to find sets of co-regulated genes acting as genetic modules. Dr. Kim has been a Markey Scholar and a Searle Scholar. He is currently an Ellison Scholar for his research on the genetics of aging. He was awarded the Ho-Am prize in medicine in 2004, and is an editor of PLOS Genetics. He is on the National Science Advisory Council for the American Federation for Aging Research and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Buck Institute for Age Research.
Alexa Boer Kimball, M.D., M.P.H
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School. Vice Chair, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Kimball received her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and her masters of public health degree from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Dr. Kimball's work includes studies of therapies for disorders such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, and superficial basal cell carcinoma. She has presented her work at national and international medical and scientific symposia and has contributed significantly to medical literature. Her articles and abstracts have been published in such journals as Archives of Dermatology and Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and her book chapters have appeared in several editions of eMedicine Dermatology. Highly involved in the medical community, Dr. Kimball currently serves as Director of the Clinical Unit of Research Trial in Skin (CURTIS).
Makoto Kuro-o, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Kuro-o received an M.D. in 1985 from the University of Tokyo, Japan. He completed his residency training at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in 1988, after which he returned to the University of Tokyo as a clinical fellow in cardiology until 1998. He received a Ph.D. in 1991 from the University of Tokyo, following which he pursued postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Neuroscience in Japan. During his postdoctoral work, he identified the klotho gene—an aging suppressor gene in mammals. In 1998, he became an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. His laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular mechanism by which the klotho protein suppresses aging.
Lester Mitscher, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Medical Chemistry, University of Kansas
Dr. Mitscher received his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1958 from Wayne State University, Detroit, where he studied natural product chemistry. In 1975, he accepted a University Distinguished Professorship and Chairmanship in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas. He returned to the faculty in 1992 where his current research includes antibiotics, genetics, and chemoprevention. He has published more than 280 research papers, authored and coauthored seven books on drug discovery, serves on the editorial board of several technical journals, and holds 15 U.S. and global patents. He is a member of the executive committee of the International Organization for Chemistry in Developing Countries and the Senior Advisory Committee of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development.
Koji Nakanishi, Ph.D.
Centennial Professor of Chemistry, Columbia University
The very first research on ginkgo biloba, 30 years ago, was the work of Prof. Koji Nakanishi, Ph.D., who isolated the active component of ginkgo extract. During his highly productive career, he has advanced the understanding of natural products by determining the chemical structure of nearly 200 bioactive compounds and how they function to affect human, plant and animal life. He has been given awards by nearly a dozen nations and numerous scientific organizations. He has published 700 scientific papers and written nine books, including an autobiography, A Wandering Natural Products Scientist (1991). He is also a recipient of the prestigious King Faisal International Award in the area of science.
Lester Packer, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California. Distinguished Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of nutritional Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Regarded as the world’s foremost antioxidant research scientist, Dr. Packer received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Biochemistry from Yale University and served as a Professor and Senior Researcher at the University of California at Berkeley for 40 years. Most recently, Dr. Packer has established a research laboratory in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Southern California to pursue studies related to the molecular, cellular, and physiological aspects of free radical and antioxidant metabolisms in biological systems. Dr. Packer is the recipient of numerous scientific achievement awards and serves on editorial advisory boards for scientific journals related to biochemistry, antioxidant metabolism, and nutrition. Dr. Packer has published over 700 scientific papers and 70 books on every aspect of antioxidants and health, including “The Antioxidant Miracle.
Tomas A. Prolla, Ph.D
Co-founder, LifeGen Technologies, Professor, departments of Genetics and Medical Genetics, University of Wisconsin
Tomas A. Prolla, Ph.D., studied in the Department of Molecular Bio-physics and Biochemistry at Yale University, receiving a doctoral degree in 1994. He completed post-doctoral training at the Human and Molecular Genetics Department at Baylor College of Medicine, then joined the faculty of the Department of Genetics and Medical Genetics at the University of Wisconsin in 1997. Dr. Prolla has received several awards of scientific excellence, including the Shorb Lecturer Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Young Investigator Award, the Shaw Scientist Award, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute New Investigator Award, and the Pound Research Award. Dr. Prolla’s work currently focuses on the use of gene expression profiling, lifespan studies, and histopathology. In 2001, he and Dr. Richard Weindruch founded LifeGen Technologies, LLC, a company focused on nutritional genomics, including the impact of nutrients and caloric restriction on the aging process. Dr. Prolla has published several articles in prestigious scientific journals such as Science.
Hildebert Wagner, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Institute of Pharmacy at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Center for Pharmaceutical Research, Munich, Germany
Author of Immunmodulatory Agents from Plants (Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, 1999), Dr. Hildebert Wagner has studied Pharmacy since 1950. He is the author of 7 other books including: Plant Drug Analysis (Springer Verlag Heidelber, 1996), and Drugs and Drug Constituents (Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Stuttgart, 1998), as well as authoring over 900 other scientific publications. Dr. Wagner was made a Full Professor of Pharmacognosy in 1965, and later served as Director of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology in Munich until 1999. He has been distinguished by many international scientific institutions including the Universities of Ohio, Budapest and Debrecen, Dijon, and Helsinki for his work in Pharmacy. Dr. Wagner sits on advisory/editorial boards for Phytochemistry, the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, the Journal of Natural Products, as well as serving as Editor for the International Journal of Phytomedicine.
Dr. Richard Weindruch, Ph.D.
Co-founder, LifeGen Technologies, Professor of Geriatrics and Gerontology, University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine
Dr. Weindruch earned his Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology at UCLA in 1978. He is the author and co-author of more than 170 publications and his scientific awards include the Harman Research Award, American Aging Association (2000) and the Glenn Award, GSA (2000). Dr. Weindruch’s research career has focused on the biology of aging and age-related diseases, studying caloric restriction, which slows the aging process and retards the appearance of a broad spectrum of diseases in diverse animal populations. In 2001, he and Dr. Tomas Prolla founded LifeGen Technologies, LLC, a company focused on nutritional genomics, including the impact of nutrients and caloric restriction on the aging process. Dr. Weindruch has published several articles in Science and other prestigious scientific journals.
