Antony Young

Antony Young’s interest in photobiology was initiated by his MSc in Radiation Biology at the University of London. He studied for his PhD, on psoralen skin photosensitization, under the supervision of the late Professor Ian Magnus who was a pioneer in clinical and experimental photobiology. Professor Young has been secretary of the American Society for Photobiology (ASP) and is a regular faculty member at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). He is chairman of the British Photodermatology Group (BPG). He has also served on three working groups of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and was the rapporteur for the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) that assessed tanning devices. He is photobiology section editor for the Journal of Dermatological Sciences.

Professor Young’s research interests include the effects of UVR on immune function, DNA photodamage and its repair, risk factors for skin cancer, UVR-induced oxidative damage and the role of antioxidants, photosensitization, endogenous and exogenous photoprotection and how the skin adapts to repeated low dose UVR exposure. Typically, experiments are done with human cells in vitro and studies on normal human volunteers. Professor Young has a long-standing interest in action spectroscopy (wavelength dependence of photobiology effects) and the public health implications of his work.