Graduate student Jason Williams (P. Weiss group) is combining his scientific training with entrepreneurship. My Block Skin, the skincare company he co-founded and serves as Chief Scientific Officer for, has been selected as one of the Top 10 companies for the 2026 UCLA Draper Innovation Showcase.
The showcase, organized by the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson, recognizes promising companies and gives founders an opportunity to present their work to investors, UCLA leaders, alumni, and mentors.
Williams will pitch My Block Skin on October 22, sharing the company’s work and future plans with the showcase audience.
My Block Skin develops translucent mineral SPF formulations designed to eliminate the white cast common to traditional mineral sunscreens, especially on deeper skin tones. The company recently filed a U.S. provisional patent application to protect its technology. Williams leads My Block Skin’s research and development from the company’s lab at Magnify, the startup incubator at UCLA’s California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).
In Professor Paul S. Weiss’s group, Williams studies how mineral particles interact and scatter light, work aimed at a framework for engineering clearer, more effective sunscreen materials. His earlier research used Southern African medicinal plants and green chemistry to build nanocomposites for skin applications.
A nontraditional scholar, Williams enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after high school, serving as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Specialist with two deployments to Iraq. His undergraduate academic journey – marked by perseverance through eight community colleges – culminated in a B.S. in Chemistry from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2020. At UCLA, he has been awarded the Center for Diversity in Science Early Career Fellowship for his scholarly and community contributions. He was also named a Tillman Scholar in the Pat Tillman Foundation’s Class of 2025.
Williams is also the lead facilitator of UCLA’s Veterans in STEM program, and currently mentors five undergraduate students. He also founded Elements of Equity, a nonprofit organization that provides underrepresented students with paid research internships. EoE targets talented individuals who lack high GPAs but possess strong potential and passion for science.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
