Danny Petrasek MD, PhD is one of the three founders of SkinApparel.
Clinical Training (MD)
Dr. Petrasek began his medical career in a traditional internal medicine training program affiliated with the UCLA school of Medicine. He was awarded the prize of UCLA Resident of the Year in his second year of training, and went on to be selected as one of two Chief Medical Residents in charge of the residency program. His interest in research began in his 2nd year of residency. Initially his work focused on the physiology of the endocrine system. The endocrine system is the body's network for hormonal regulation. As a result of his contributions and awards, he was selected to be part of the UCLA STAR PROGRAM, a highly competitive (MD - PhD) program that awards the recipients with scholarships and research funding for the purpose of training first-rate medical Scientists.
Research Training (PhD)
Physician Scientists along with their MDs often pursue PhD's in biological sciences. Here, Dr. Petrasek parted from tradition. Historically, the greatest advances in modern molecular biology occurred through cross disciplinary interactions between physics, chemistry and biology. Dr. Petrasek recognized both the need and advantage in bridging medical science with technology from non-biological disciplines such as physics, computation and chemistry. In doing so, he became the first physician ever admitted to the California Institute of Technology's (Caltech) premier department of Applied and Computational Mathematics. At Caltech a "No Walls" policy between departments encourages creative freedom and original scientific pursuit. Dr. Petrasek's PhD thesis broke new ground in establishing a novel theory for the origins of endocrine organs. The description for this theory was also groundbreaking for biology in that it was fully described in mathematical equations: the natural and predictive language of physical science.
Dr. Petrasek's scientific interests extend into traditional cell and molecular biology and physiology, where his contributions span the fields of dermatology, cardiology, and renal physiology. He has been the recipient of several grants from the NIH, DARPA, and Burroughs Welcome Fund. Dr. Petrasek was also the recipient of the prestigious Keck Discovery Grant for innovative biomedical science. Competing for this prestigious award with all of Caltech Faculty, Dr. Petrasek was one of only two scientists awarded the funding. Dr. Petrasek is currently on the research and teaching faculty in Bioengineering and Applied and Computational Mathematics at Caltech and a member of the clinical faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is the author of numerous research and review articles including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition Dr. Petrasek is the author of several drug and biotechnology patents and serves as medical director and consultant for several biotechnology companies.
The Skin Care Industry And New Technology
Collaborative work that transcends the boundaries of chemistry, biomedical and biophysical science is an excellent vantage point for tracking current biotechnology. One key observation we have made is that the skin care industry often lags many years behind in the adoption of biological discovery. This observation established the opportunity and mission for SkinApparel. Led by Dr. Petrasek, an eclectic core team of chemists, scientists and physicians began to collaborate and develop novel skin care applications.
The SkinApparel Approach
How does one innovate in a highly competitive field such as cosmetics and skin care?
Our strategy for innovation was taken in part from successful examples outside the skin care industry.
The MRI Story
The technology for MR (magnetic resonance) was known since the 1940's but only 35 years later did it occur to the inventors that this proven and safe technology could be applied to form images and thus the MRI was invented. What followed this discovery was a major development and contribution in the world of medicine.
The SkinApparel Strategy
Our team works along the same lines. We select out ingredients and components that have been used and proven effective but not yet applied to skin care. Our first two products are prime examples of this strategy (see product descriptions). SkinApparel is now preparing a line of products, that will target skin health and ageing in a completely novel way. These products will actually enhance the effectiveness of all antioxidants and age-defying products by enabling the skin cells to work harmoniously. The concepts are already established in Biology and, once introduced by SkinApparel in cosmetics, may quickly achieve the same household word status that vitamins and antioxidants share.