Is exposure to the sun always bad for your health? Should we use sunscreen daily? Is exposing yourself to the sun with sunscreen safe? Can moderate exposure to the sun, without sunscreen, be beneficial? How much sun should I get to stay healthy? If you want to answer these questions, come to watch the seminar.

If you are someone who is up to date with current trends, you might think that the answer is straightforward, that is, simply use a good sunscreen and everything will be fine. Is this statement true?  The direct and straight answer is NO! The interaction of light with the skin is complex and multidisciplinary in principle. Imagine yourself closing your eyes and facing the sun. The light is clearly interacting. How much do the photons penetrate in our skin? How does the skin respond? In this seminar, we will begin by characterizing the interaction of photons from the sun with our skin, focusing on the electronic absorption and the reactivity of the excited states that are formed. Using examples of research from ours and other laboratories, we will also analyze the responses of different skin cells (fibroblasts, keratinocytes and melanocytes) and the consequences for our health of different sun exposure regimes.

For a review to start preparing for the discussions, please consider reading: Endogenous Photosensitizers in Human Skin. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00787