“CBS Evening News” correspondent Danya Bacchus was on campus recently to interview chemical biology graduate student AJ Addae (Paul S. Weiss group) about her work to create a more inclusive beauty industry through science.
The CBS team interviewed Addae at her company SULA LABS in Westwood Village, and on campus in Professor Paul Weiss’ Young Hall laboratory. Versions of the interview aired on CBS affiliates including Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Hartford, Fresno, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix and New York City and Las Vegas among others.
Before coming to UCLA, Addae founded SULA LABS, a research and development laboratory that specializes in developing and clinically testing cosmetics for individuals with darker skin tones. She joined UCLA’s chemical biology graduate program in 2022, working in the group of Professor Paul S. Weiss, where she is studying the surface functionalization of metal oxide-based UV attenuators at the nanoscale for use in sunscreen formulations. Her work in the Weiss lab has recently resulted in a publication in Accounts of Materials Research titled ‘Standardizing the White Cast Potential of Sunscreens with Metal Oxide Ultraviolet Filters’.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
