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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Molly Wanner, M.D., M.B.A

Dermatologist, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Dr. Wanner is a board certified dermatologist who specializes in laser and cosmetic dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She is currently conducting clinical and basic science research in the area of cosmetic and laser dermatology. Her research interests include topical cosmetic products, fat and cellulite, and laser and cosmetic devices. Dr. Wanner has presented nationally and authored multiple articles in such publications as Dermatologic Surgery, Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, and Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. She serves on task forces for the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery, and the Women’s Dermatologic Society. Wanner graduated Magna Cum Laude from Amherst College. Dr. Wanner attended Columbia University where she graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from the medical school and Beta Gamma Sigma from the business school.