Paola graduated with a PhD in Tissue Engineering from 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 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.
Paola 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.
Featured publications
- Barrett N., Lindsay M., De Los Santos Gomez P., Simpson J., Maltman V., Goncalves K., Przyborski S. (2025). Visualization and Quantification of Basal Melanocytes Within a 3D Bioengineered Skin Equivalent. In: Methods in Molecular Biology. Springer, New York, NY. DOI: 10.1007/7651_2025_672
- Abraham G., Maczkowska J., Gilmore R., Barrett N., Simpson J., De Los Santos Gomez P., Goncalves K., Maltman V., Przyborski S. (2025). Biometric Quantification of Keratinocyte Turnover Using Bioengineered Human Skin Equivalents. In: Methods in Molecular Biology. Springer, New York, NY. DOI: 10.1007/7651_2025_673
- 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
- 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, 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
- 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
- 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