Pascal DESCARGUES

Pascal is the CEO of Genoskin, a life sciences company he founded in 2011, based in Salem MA, and Toulouse, France. Genoskin is a leader and pioneer in ex vivo clinical testing through its unique platform of standardized ex vivo human skin models that provides reliable human data. Pascal did his doctorate at the University of Toulouse, France under the supervision of Professor Alain Hovnanian at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research. He developed and successfully characterized a mouse model for Netherton syndrome, a severe genodermatosis with atopic symptoms. Pascal then did a post-doctorate in the laboratory of Dr. Mickael Karin at the University of San Diego in California where he studied the role of the alpha subunit of the IKK complex in thekeratinocyte cell cycle arrest and involvement in terminal epidermal differentiation. In 2009, Pascal developed innovative models of human skin at the National Center for Scientific Research and at the University of Toulouse. He invented a unique gel-like matrix to keep biopsies of human skin alive. This innovative technology led Pascal to launch Genoskin. In 2018, Pascal moved to the United States to create Genoskin Inc. and further develop its North American capabilities. Pascal has 20 years of experience in the development and characterization of pathological skin models and his research has been published in major journals such as Nature Genetics, PNAS, EMBO and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Pascal is the inventor of 4 patent families belonging to Genoskin. He also received the LeoPharma Charles Grupper Prize (2005), the Medicine Prize from the Toulouse Academy of Sciences (2007) and the Young Entrepreneur in Economics Prize from “La Tribune” (2014).