Dr Paola De Los Santos Gomez

Paola graduated with a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua in Mexico. She completed a PhD in Biosciences funded by CONACyT (Mexico’s National Council on Science and Technology) at Durham University. Her doctoral research focused on the development of in vitro human-pigmented skin equivalents to study skin pigmentation, photodamage and photoprotection. This established her with experience in advanced cell culture technologies, human tissue models, cellular-based assays, histology, immunostaining, and light and electron microscopy for fundamental research and product testing. During her project, Paola collaborated with other researchers in academia and industry. Upon completion of her PhD, she undertook a Research Assistant position in the same group. In 2024, she joined the Autonomous University of Chihuahua as a Tissue Engineering Lecturer for the BSc in Biomedical Engineering and MSc in Biomedical Sciences programmes.

Paola joined Loughborough University in February 2025 and is currently working as a Research Associate in Extracellular Vesicles for Regenerative Aesthetics alongside Dr Owen Davies, in collaboration with a private funder.

Paola’s research interests focus on human skin ageing and the application of cell and tissue platforms to develop and test novel anti-ageing products. She currently works with Dr Owen Davies on a project to develop a unique regenerative platform technology applying bioinstructive cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) to promote skin rejuvenation at the molecular level. 

• Smith, L., Maltman, V., De Los Santos Gomez, P., Goncalves, K., Przyborski, S. (2025). Engineering a Multilayered Skin Equivalent: The Importance of Endogenous Extracellular Matrix and Model Flexibility for Nuanced and Accurate Skin Studies. In: Biedermann, T., Böttcher-Haberzeth, S. (eds) Skin Tissue Engineering. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2922. Humana, New York, NY. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4510-9_12
• De Los Santos Gomez, P., Goncalves, K., Maltman, V., Smith, L., Przyborski, S. (2025). Engineering a Pigmented Skin Equivalent That Is Responsive to External Stimuli. In: Biedermann, T., Böttcher-Haberzeth, S. (eds) Skin Tissue Engineering. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2922. Humana, New York, NY. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4510-9_9
• Jarrold BB, Tan CYR, Ho CY, et al. Early onset of senescence and imbalanced epidermal homeostasis across the decades in photoexposed human skin: Fingerprints of inflammaging. Exp Dermatol. 2022; 31: 1748-1760. DOI: 10.1111/exd.14654
• Goncalves K, De Los Santos Gomez P, Costello L, et al. Investigation into the effect of skin tone modulators and exogenous stress on skin pigmentation utilizing a novel bioengineered skin equivalent. Bioeng Transl Med. 2023; 8(2):e10415. DOI: 10.1002/btm2.10415
• Costello L, Goncalves K, De Los Santos Gomez P, et al. Quantitative morphometric analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic skin ageing in individuals with Fitzpatrick skin types II–III. Exp Dermatol. 2023; 32: 620-631. DOI: 10.1111/exd.14754
• De Los Santos Gomez P, Costello L, Goncalves K, Przyborski S. Comparison of photodamage in non-pigmented and pigmented human skin equivalents exposed to repeated ultraviolet radiation to investigate the role of melanocytes in skin photoprotection. Front Med (Lausanne). 2024 Apr 18;11:1355799. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1355799
• Costello, L., Goncalves, K., De Los Santos Gomez, P., Hulette, B., Dicolandrea, T., Flagler, M. J., Isfort, R., Oblong, J., Bascom, C., & Przyborski, S. (2025). Investigation into the significant role of dermal-epidermal interactions in skin ageing utilising a bioengineered skin construct. Journal of Cellular Physiology, 240, e31463. DOI: 10.1002/jcp.31463