{"id":18459,"date":"2025-07-14T13:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T11:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.areasciencepark.it\/?p=18459"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T13:03:20","slug":"eco-friendly-sunscreens-using-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.areasciencepark.it\/en\/eco-friendly-sunscreens-using-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Eco-friendly sunscreens using Artificial Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Ali Hassanali<\/strong>, a Senior Research Scientist at the <strong>Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)<\/strong>, has been awarded a <strong>Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council<\/strong> (ERC) to <strong>explore sustainable, skin-safe UV protection using molecules designed with Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The project, <strong>CUSHOP<\/strong> (Capturing UV Sunlight Using Hydrogen-Bond Networks: Organic Sun Screens for Skin Protection), will <strong>combine generative AI and lab experiments to develop new organic molecules that absorb UVA and UVB rays<\/strong> \u2013 the two types of UV light responsible for skin damage. These molecules could be integrated into new sunscreen products, thus addressing rising skin-cancer rates and the growing concerns about the harmful impact of current sunscreens ingredients on marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p>The project will build on the ground-breaking knowledge and expertise recently developed by Hassanali and his group at ICTP as part of the ongoing ERC-funded, five-year project <strong>HyBOP (Hydrogen-Bond Networks as Optical Probes)<\/strong>. In the years since its launch in 2022, the project has explored how organic molecules \u2013 particularly hydrogen-bonded systems \u2013 interact with light. The researchers\u2019 deeper understanding of the molecular characteristics involved in UVA and UVB light absorption will be key in the search for new sun-shielding molecules.<\/p>\n<p>The funding will support two post-doctoral positions at ICTP and reinforce the Centre\u2019s inhouse computer resources. The in-silico design of macromolecules using generative models will be carried out in close collaboration with AI experts from the <strong>Laboratory of Data Engineering of Area Science Park<\/strong>, coordinated by <strong>Alberto Cazzaniga<\/strong>. The group will also work in collaboration with <strong>Silvia Marchesan<\/strong> and her team at the <strong>University of Trieste<\/strong> to synthesise the AI-designed molecules and test their performance when integrated into sunscreen products. The expertise of a consultant from the skin-cosmetics industry will help explore the possible commercialisation of the result.<\/p>\n<p>Other institutions in the science and innovation system of the Trieste region, including <strong>SISSA<\/strong>, will be involved at different stages of the project. Hassanali\u2019s CUSHOP is one of the 150 projects selected in 2025 by the ERC as part of their Proof of Concept Grants scheme, which supports ERC grantees in the early phases of the commercialisation or societal application of their pioneering research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ali Hassanali, a Senior Research Scientist at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), has been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) to explore sustainable, skin-safe UV protection using molecules designed with Artificial Intelligence (AI). The project, CUSHOP (Capturing UV Sunlight Using Hydrogen-Bond Networks: Organic Sun Screens [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":18456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[301,303],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","category-research-infrastructures"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eco-friendly sunscreens using Artificial Intelligence - Area Science Park<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.areasciencepark.it\/en\/eco-friendly-sunscreens-using-ai\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eco-friendly sunscreens using Artificial Intelligence - Area Science Park\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ali Hassanali, a Senior Research Scientist at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), has been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) to explore sustainable, skin-safe UV protection using molecules designed with Artificial Intelligence (AI). 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