RACHEL WATSON

Biography:

Rachel Watson, BSc (Hons), PhD is Professor of Cutaneous Science with a distinguished career in skin research. She earned her BSc (hons) in Anatomy & Cell Biology and her PhD from the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the biological mechanisms of skin ageing and extracellular matrix repair, with a particular emphasis on the effects of topical retinoids.

In addition to her academic role, Rachel holds adjunct positions as Chief Scientist at the National Skin Centre, Singapore, and Adjunct Professor of Cutaneous Science at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University. She currently serves as the Executive Director of A*STAR Skin Research Labs and the Skin Research Institute of Singapore.

Research interests: Our research focuses on understanding human ageing, with particular reference to skin. Ageing can be divided broadly into two categories: that which occurs as a consequence of time (intrinsic ageing) and that which is the result of our interactions with the environment (extrinsic ageing). The major environmental factor which impacts upon skin is long-term sun exposure (ultraviolet radiation, UVR), although other stimuli also exert effects (sun-bed use, smoking, atmospheric pollutants etc).

Singapore is facing the challenges of a global ageing population, leading to increased pressure on healthcare systems. As a multi-ethnic nation, we are beginning to recognize that ethnicity significantly influences health, with variations in chronic disease prevalence across different ethnic groups. However, there remains a significant knowledge gap regarding how Asian skin ages. Our goal is to understand the biological drivers of skin ageing in an Asian context, with a particular focus on inflammation and tissue remodelling, to develop targeted preventive and therapeutic strategies.

In addition to examining the mechanisms underlying skin ageing, we also have an interest in aiding the repair of skin once damaged. This includes understanding how drugs, such as retinoids, interact with the skin to promote repair; dietary protection against UVR-mediated damage and performing 'proof of principle' in vivo clinical studies on emerging therapies.

Collaborators:

• Professor Anna Nicolaou, Pharmacy & Optometry, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
• Dr Abigail Langton Centre for Dermatology Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, UK
• Professor Anna Chien, Johns Hopkins Dermatology, USA
• Dr Oliver Dreesen, Senior Principal Scientist II, A* SRL
• Dr Carlos Clavel, Principal Scientist II, A* SRL and Dr Etienne Wang, Senior Consultant, NSC; Adjunct Scientist, SRIS
• Dr Carine Bonnard, Senior Principal Scientist, A* SRL
• Dr Kenneth Lay, Principal Scientist, A*SRL
• Cutaneous Ageing Maintenance Programme Consortium:
  • Professor Steven Thng, Deputy Director & Senior Consultant, NSC; Chief Dermatologist, SRIS
  • Dr Yik Weng Yew, Senior Consultant, NSC
  • Professor Maurice van Steensel, Professor of Dermatology and Skin Biology, LKC School of Medicine, NTU
  • Dr Baptiste Janela, Assistant Professor in Skin Immunology, LKC School of Medicine, NTU
  • Dr Carine Bonnard, Senior Principal Scientist, A* SRL
  • Dr Leah Vardy, Senior Principal Scientist, A* SRL
  • Dr Oliver Dreesen, Senior Principal Scientist, A* SRL
  • Dr John Common, Senior Principal Scientist, A*SRL & Professor of Cutaneous Inflammation and Microbiome, Newcastle University, UK
  • Dr Neerja Karnani, Senior Principal Scientist, A* Bioinformatics Institute (BII)
  • Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, Executive Director, A* Bioinformatics Institute (BII)
  • Dr Ram DasGupta, Senior Principal Scientist, A* Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS)
  • Dr Jay Shin, Senior Principal Scientist, A* Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS)
  • Dr James Chan, Principal Scientist, A* SRL & A* Singapore Institute of Food & Biotechnology (SIFBI)
  • Dr Anand Andiappan, Principal Scientist, A* Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)

Current staff and research students:

• Dr Keith Tan, Principal Scientist
• Dr Lin Li, Senior Scientist
• Dr Shah Jahan Fathima Rifkhana, Senior Scientist
• Dr Krystle Joy Ng, Scientist
• Maria Del Mar Alvarez Villamandos, Senior Research Officer
• Ho Jia Jun, Research Officer
• Mak Wai Theng, Research Officer
• Deyvapriya Siva, Research Officer

Memberships of committees and professional bodies:

• British Society for Investigative Dermatology
• British Society for Research into Ageing
• European Society for Dermatological Research
• Society for Investigative Dermatology
• American Aging Association
• Skin Research Society (Singapore)

Methodological Knowledge:

Research clinic (NSC)

• In vivo skin physiology assessment
• 'Proof of principle' in vivo clinical studies to assess skin repair by emerging therapies

  Research laboratory (A*SRL)

  Fundamental research labs with the capacity to perform:

• Gene expression studies - in situ hybridization, qPCR, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
• Protein studies - immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, protein biochemistry, Western blotting
• Matrix metalloproteinase studies - zymography, in situ zymography

Selected publications:

Intrinsic ageing & the Menopause

1. Watson REB, Ratnayaka JA, Brooke RCC, Yit-See-Yu S, Ancian P, Griffiths CEM. Retinoic acid receptor a expression and cutaneous ageing. Mech Ageing Develop. 125:465-73, 2004
2. Schmuth M, Watson REB, Deplewski D, Dubrac S, Zouboulis CC, Griffiths CEM. Nuclear hormone receptors in human skin. Horm Metab Res. 39:96-105, 2007
3. Ford CT, Sherratt MJ, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Liver X receptor β: Maintenance of epidermal expression in intrinsic and extrinsic skin aging. AGE. 31:365-72, 2009
4. Langton AK, Sherratt MJ, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Differential expression of elastic fibre components in intrinsically aged skin. Biogerontology. 13:37-48, 2012
5. Blume-Peytavi U, Kottner J, Sterry W, Hodin MW, Griffiths TW, Watson REB, Hay RJ, Griffiths CEM. Age-associated skin conditions and diseases: Current perspectives and future options. The Gerontologist. 56(S2):S230-S42, 2016
6. Langton AK, Halai P, Griffiths CEM, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB. The impact of intrinsic ageing on the protein composition of the dermal-epidermal junction. Mech Ageing Develop. 156:14-6, 2016
7. Pilkington SM, Barron MJ, Watson REB, Griffiths CEM, Bulfone-Paus S. Aged human skin accumulates mast cells with altered functionality which localise to macrophage and VIP⁺ nerve fibres. Br J Dermatol. 180:849-58, 2019
8. Langton AK, Graham HK, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Ageing significantly impacts the biomechanical function and structural composition of skin. Exp Dermatol. 28:981-4, 2019
9. Ozols M, Eckersley A, Mellody KT, Mallikarjun V, Warwood S, O'Cualain R, Knight D, Watson REB, Griffiths CEM, Swift J, Sherratt MJ. Peptide location fingerprinting reveals modification-associated biomarkers of ageing in human tissue proteomes. Aging Cell. 20:e13355, 2021
10. Mellody KT, Kendall AC, Wray JR, Foster AR, Langton AK, Costello P, Newton VL, Griffiths CEM, Nicolaou A, Watson REB, Pilkington SM. Influence of menopause and hormone replacement therapy on epidermal ageing and skin biomechanical function. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 36(7):e576-e80, 2022
11. Kendall AC, Pilkington SM, Wray JR, Newton VL, Griffiths CEM, Bell M, Watson REB, Nicolaou A. Menopause induces changes to the stratum corneum ceramide profile, which are prevented by hormone replacement therapy. Scientific Reports, 12(1):21715, 2022
12. Kiss O, Bahri R, Watson REB, Chike C, Langton AK, Newton VL, Bell M, Griffiths CEM, Bulfone-Paus S, Pilkington SM. The impact of irritant challenge on the skin barrier and myeloid resident immune cells in post-menopausal women is modulated by hormone replacement therapy. Br J Dermatol. 191:746-59, 2024

Extrinsic ageing, including photodamage and UV-induced inflammation

1. Craven NM, Watson REB, Jones CJP, Shuttleworth CA, Kielty CM, Griffiths CEM. Clinical features of photodamaged human skin relate to reduction in collagen VII. Br J Dermatol. 137:344-50, 1997
2. Watson REB, Griffiths CEM, Craven NM, Shuttleworth CA, Kielty CM. Fibrillin microfibrils are reduced in photoaged skin: Distribution and abundance at the dermal-epidermal junction. J Invest Dermatol. 112:782-7, 1999
3. Shahbakhti H, Watson REB, Azurdia RM, Ferreira CZ, Garmyn M, Rhodes LE. Influence of eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, on UVB-generation of PGE2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1b, TNF-a, IL-6 and IL-8 in human skin in vivo. Photochem Photobiol. 80:231-5, 2004
4. Hibbert SA, Watson REB, Gibbs NK, Costello P, Baldock C, Weiss AS, Griffiths CEM, Sherratt MJ. A potential role for endogenous proteins as sacrificial sunscreens and antioxidants in human tissues. Redox Biol. 5:101-13, 2015
5. Langton AK, Tsoureli-Nikita E, Griffiths CEM, Katsambas A, Antoniou C, Stratagos AJ, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB. Lyslyl oxidase activity is enhanced in extrinsically aged human skin. Br J Dermatol. 176:1376-8, 2017
6. Ayer J, Ahmed A, Duncan-Parry E, Beck P, Griffiths TW, Watson REB, Griffiths CEM. A photonumeric scale for the assessment of atrophic facial photodamage. Br J Dermatol. 178:1190-5, 2018
7. Shih BB, Farrar MD, Cooke MS, Osman J, Langton AK, Kift R, Webb AR, Berry JL, Watson REB, Vail A, de Gruijl FR, Rhodes LE. Fractional sunburn threshold UVR doses generate equivalent vitamin D in skin types I-VI but with proportional DNA damage. J Invest Dermatol. 138:2244-52, 2018
8. Newton VL, Riba-Garcia I, Griffiths CEM, Rawlings AV, Voegeli R, Unwin RD, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics reveals the distinct nature of the skin proteomes of photoaged compared to intrinsically aged skin. Int J Cosmetic Sci. 41:118-31, 2019
9. Hawkshaw NJ, Pilkington SM, Murphy S, Al-Gazaq N, Farrar MD, Watson REB, Nicolaou A, Rhodes LE. UV radiation recruits CD4⁺GATA3⁺ and dysfunctional CD8⁺ T-cells while altering the lipid microenvironment following inflammatory resolution in human skin in vivo. Clin Trans Immunol. 9:e01104, 2020
10. Foster AR, El-Chami C, O’Neill CA, Watson REB. Osmolyte transporter expression is reduced in photoaged human skin: Implications for skin hydration in aging. Aging Cell. 19:e13058, 2020
11. Langton AK, Tsoureli-Nikita E, Merrick H, Zhao X, Antoniou C, Stratigos A, Akhtar R, Derby B, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB, Griffiths CEM. The systemic influence of chronic smoking on skin structure and mechanical function. J Pathol. 251:420-8, 2020
12. Langton AK, Ayer J, Griffiths TW, Naidoo K, Rashdan E, Birch-Machin MA, Caley MP, O’Toole EA, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Distinctive clinical and histological characteristics of atrophic and hypertrophic facial photoageing. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 35:762-8, 2021
13. Kruttmann J, Watson REB, Morita A. Daily photoprotection to prevent photoaging. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 37(6):482-9, 2021

Ethnicity and skin

1. Langton AK, Sherratt MJ, Sellers W, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Geographic ancestry is a key determinant of epidermal morphology and dermal composition. Br J Dermatol. 171:274-82, 2014
2. Langton AK, Alessi S, Chien AL, Kang S, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Aging in skin of color: Organization of the dermal matrix impacts skin function. J Invest Dermatol. 139:779-88, 2019
3. Langton AK, Hann M, Costello P, Halai P, Griffiths CEM, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB. Remodelling of fibrillin-rich microfibrils by solar-simulated radiation: Impact of skin ethnicity. Photochem Photobiol Sci. 19:1160-7, 2020
4. Langton AK, Hann M, Costello P, Halai P, Alessi Cesar SS, Chien AL, Kang S, Griffiths CEM, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB. Heterogeneity of fibrillin-rich microfibrils extracted from human skin of diverse ethnicity. J Anat. 237:478-86, 2020

Extracellular matrix & its repair

1. Watson REB, Craven NM, Kang S, Jones CJP, Kielty CM, Griffiths CEM. A short-term screening assay, using fibrillin-1 as a reporter molecule, for photoaging repair agents. J Invest Dermatol. 116:672-8, 2001
2. Farwick M, Watson REB, Rawlings AV, Wollenweber U, Lersch P, Bowden JJ, Bastrilles JY, Griffiths CEM. Salicyloyl-phytosphingosine: A novel agent for the repair of photoaged skin. Int J Cos Sci. 29:319-29, 2007
3. Watson REB, Long SP, Bowden JJ, Bastrilles JY, Barton SP, Griffiths CEM. Repair of photoaged dermal matrix by topical application of cosmetic anti-ageing product. Br J Dermatol. 158:472-7, 2008
4. Watson REB, Ogden S, Cotterell LF, Bowden JJ, Bastrilles JY, Long SP, Griffiths CEM. Effects of a cosmetic ‘anti- ageing’ product on photoaged skin. Br J Dermatol. 161:419-26, 2009
5. Langton AK, Sherratt MJ, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. A new wrinkle on old skin: The role of elastic fibres in skin ageing. Int J Cosmetic Sci. 32:330-9, 2010
6. Graham HK, Hodson NW, Hoyland JA, Millward-Sadler SJ, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB, Trafford AW, Sherratt MJ. Tissue section AFM: In Situ ultrastructural imaging of native biomolecules. Matrix Biology. 29:254-60, 2010
7. Sherratt MJ, Reilly SM, Bayley CP, Gibbs NK, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Low-dose ultraviolet radiation selectively degrades chromophore-rich extracellular matrix components. J Pathol. 222:32-40, 2010
8. Naylor EC, Watson REB, Sherratt MJ. Molecular aspects of skin ageing. Maturitas. 69:249-56, 2011
9. Zhao X, Akhtar R, Nijenhuis N, Wilkinson S, Ballestrem C, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB, Derby B. Multi-layer phase analysis: Quantifying the elastic properties of soft tissues and live cells with ultra-high frequency scanning acoustic microscopy. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 59:610-20, 2012
10. Langton AK, Griffiths CEM, Sherratt MJ, Watson REB. Cross-linking of structural proteins in ageing skin: an in situ assay for the detection of amine oxidase activity. Biogerontology. 14:89-97, 2013
11. Tran C, Michelet JF, Simonetti L, Fiat F, Garrigues A, Potter A, Bazin R, Segot E, Watson REB, Griffiths CEM, De Lacharriere O. In vitro and in vivo studies with tetra-hydro-jasmonic acid (LR2412) reveal its potential to correct signs of skin ageing. J Eur Acad Derm Venereol. 28:415-23, 2014
12. Langton AK, Graham HG, McConnell JC, Sherratt MJ, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Organization of the dermal matrix impacts the biomechanical properties of skin. Br J Dermatol. 177:818-27, 2017
13. Mellody KT, Bradley EJ, Mambwe B, Cotterell LF, Kiss O, Halai P, Loftus Z, Bell M, Griffiths TW, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB. Multifaceted amelioration of cutaneous photoageing by (0.3%) retinol. Int J Cosmetic Sci. 44(6):625-35, 2022
14. Jariwala N, Ozols M, Eckersley A, Mambwe B, Watson REB, Zeef L, Gilmore A, Debelle L. Bell M, Bradley EJ, Doush Y, Keenan A, Courage C, Leroux R, Peschard O, Mondon P, Ringenbach C, Bernard L, Pitois A, Sherratt MJ. An in silico to in vivo discovery pipeline to predict, screen and characterise novel bioactive tetra-peptide matrikines for skin rejuvenation. Br J Dermatol. 191:92–106, 2024
15. Halai P, Kiss O, Wang R, Chien AL, Kang S, Griffiths CEM, Watson REB, Langton AK. Retinoids in the treatment of skin photodamage: A histologic study of topical retinoid efficacy in black skin. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 38:1618-27, 2024

Dietary interventions

1. Rhodes LE, Darby G, Massey KA, Clarke KA, Dew TP, Farrar MD, Bennett S, Watson REB, Williamson G, Nicolaou A. Oral green tea catechin metabolites are incorporated into human skin and protect against UVR- induced cutaneous inflammation in association with reduced production of pro-inflammatory lipoxygenase metabolite 12-HETE. Br J Nutr. 110:891-900, 2013
2. Farrar MD, Nicolaou A, Clarke KA, Mason S, Massey KA, Dew TP, Watson REB, Williamson G, Rhodes LE. A randomized controlled trial of green tea catechins in protection against ultraviolet radiation-induced cutaneous inflammation. Am J Clin Nutr. 102:608-15, 2015
3. Kendall AC, Pilkington SM, Murphy SA, Del Carratore F, Sunarwidhi AL, Kiezel-Tsugunova M, Urquhart P, Watson REB, Breitling R, Rhodes LE, Nicolaou A. Dynamics of the human skin mediator lipidome in response to dietary ω-3 fatty acid supplementation. FASEB J. 33:13014-27, 2019

Full bibliography can be accessed via: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5162-7503