Two exciting opportunities have arisen within the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to work with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in high containment level laboratories with Labskin, Unilever, University of Liverpool and Genoa.

Labskin has built a remote clinical trial platform that allows trials to happen ethically and efficiently with protocols being followed and distantly controlled; where all data collected is stored according to the strictest of GDPR guidelines; and critically, swabbing can be done under supervision in the trialists’ own home so no in-person contact is needed.

The Labskin model was created by a group of microbiologists at the University of Leeds to study the skin human microbiota and the microbial/host interaction in a controlled environment. Labskin has unique features, including its improved barrier function, dry surface and the expression of antimicrobial peptides which allow the colonization of the model with skin microbiome. We use these defining characteristics to develop methods for testing ingredients and formulations on the microbial community on Labskin.

This Autumn the Labskin Team will be presenting and attending the InCosmetics Virtual Conference from the 6th to 8th October.

Prebiotics and probiotics effect on human health and disease is a current issue that has aroused much interest in the scientific and industrial community. The development of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) which allows, among other exciting things, the study of the entire microbial community (the microbiome) of any given place has provided an additional way to investigate how prebiotics and probiotics work.