This virtual course offers an intensive training programme, designed for those of graduate and postgraduate status, in the field of dermato-cosmetic sciences. Our aspiration is not only to provide up-to-date reliable scientific information of university standard regarding chemically and toxicologically well-defined dermato-cosmetic products, but in particular also of the close interaction between products and the skin as a living organ. The course is aimed to form specialists for the cosmetic industry, the dermatologically oriented pharmaceutical industry and for professionals in research and development, scientists, marketeers and training people involved in dermato-cosmetics. According to cosmetics Regulation N°1223/2009/EC and Regulation 655/2013, besides the safety of cosmetics, efficacy also plays an important role in the Product Information File (PIF) that needs to be prepared for each cosmetic product placed on the EU market.

In the actual course you will hear what the EU regulatory framework means in terms of safety and claim substantiation. 

• How to realize daily skin care and deal with the delicate napkin zone of babies?
• The microbiome of human skin: a hype or a key factor for maintaining a healthy skin?
• Deodorants based on the skin microbiome concept: how far are we?
• How important is the barrier function of the skin? Can cosmetics affect its performance?
• What is "sensitive skin” in a cosmetic context? • What are the newest findings concerning skin aging? Role of sun exposure?
• How can we efficiently protect the skin from premature aging?
• Claim substantiation is an obligatory part of a PIF (Reg 1223/2009 and 655/2013). How to deal with it?
• What is natural? what natural-derived? Does isonorm 16128 brings clarity?
• How effective are skin care products? Can their efficacy be objectively evaluated by using non-invasive bioengineering methods?
• New approach methodologies (NAMs) for safety evaluation of cosmetics: what is the status today?

Vera Rogiers, Course administrator

Doctor in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Master in Applied Toxicology, was for many years full-time professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in the faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy and head of the department of In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology (IVTD). She is now emeritus professor but is as part-time professor still active in Dermato-Cosmetology. Besides teaching at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Ghent University (UGent) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), she organizes international courses on Cosmetics and Risk Assessment. She is co-chair of the Scientific Committee on Consumers Safety (SCCS) at the commission level and is chair of the recently created Innovation Centre-3Rs (IC-3Rs) at the VUB with focus on replacing experimental animals by novel technology. She is holder at te VUB of the Chair Mireille Aerens for the Development of Alternative Methods. Her main research activity is situated in experimental in vitro toxicology, in the development of in vitro models as an alternative to the use of experimental animals. Actual focus is on the differentiation of human skin-derived stem cells to functional hepatic cells and their application for drug discovery and the detection of drug-induced liver injury. She has been promoter of 34 doctoral theses, is author of >360 publications (>13500 citations) in international journals and is editor of several scientific books. She is an often-invited speaker and participated in the organization of more than 60 international congresses. She has coordinated 2 EU research projects and was partner in several FP6, FP7 and Horizon 2020 EU projects concerned with in vitro methodology development. Of the obtained scientific results, several patents have been filed. Throughout her carrier she received several international scientific awards, in particular for her pioneering role in in vitro experimental toxicology.