Ashland Specialty Ingredients hosts Winter 2012 Avant Institute Symposium

Wilmington, Del. - In December, Ashland Specialty Ingredients hosted the Avant Institute Symposium called "The Visual Skin, Biology and Beyond," at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. Personal Care industry professionals from around the world participated in discussions with leading research professionals and academics focused on advances in skin aging, epithelial biology, skin imaging and polymers in formulation. Dr. Leslie Baumann, internationally recognized for her contributions to the field of cosmetic dermatology, provided insights into the seven primary causes of aging and their impact on skin appearance. Dr. Peter Marinkovich addressed the role of the epidermal junction in skin physiology. Dr. Nik Kollias discussed non-invasive assessment of skin function with optical tools. Dr. Raymond Boissy and Dr. Robert Lavker, in addition, presented valuable insights about skin pigmentation and epithelial homeostasis.

In 2009 the Care Specialties Business Unit of Ashland established the Avant Institute to foster and promote scientific research relevant to the development of technologies for the personal care industry. Over the past three years, Avant has hosted or sponsored several international symposia covering skin biology, the physical chemistry of hair fibers, stratum corneum enzymology, new advances in synthetic chemistry and dermatology. Held twice a year, Ashland's Avant Institute Symposium serves as a forum to advance the latest ideas in science and to apply that knowledge in commercialization activities.

"The Avant Institute symposia bring forth some of the brightest minds in the fields of biology and polymer science, and our winter 2012 event reaffirms Ashland's commitment to inspire the personal care industry to look at advanced science and translate that science into highly innovative products," said Paul Mouser, Senior Scientist at Ashland. "We are pleased that symposium participants found the quality of the presentations to be comprehensive and highly informative. Our intent is to help convert academic and clinical research into commercial opportunities for breakthrough products."

The institute will hold its Spring 2013 Symposium on April 18 in Paris and will focus on advanced formulation techniques in hair and skin care. To learn more about the Avant Institute, contact Paul Mouser (pmouser@ashland.com).

About Ashland Specialty Ingredients
Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers industry-leading products, technologies and resources for solving formulation and product performance challenges in key markets including personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, coatings and energy. Using natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers and vinyl pyrrolidones, Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers comprehensive and innovative solutions for today's demanding consumer and industrial applications.

About Ashland
In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.

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Penny Antonopoulos
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