“What makes a person attractive?” is a question that has intrigued Dr. Lau over the years. He explored that question by studying the effect of fragrance in attraction by synthesizing perfumes made from exotic tropical plants as an undergraduate chemistry student in Hawaii. He is still involved in such quests relating to body fragrance and attraction as a cosmetic chemist. His specialization in cosmetic surgery affords him the opportunity to explore beauty, attraction, and perception. His endeavor as an art photographer allows him to explore the same in a more abstract and broader context. Dr. Lau’s research centers around this same question “What makes a person attractive?”.
(Art photography by Dr. Lau, professional models, not actual patient)
Dr. Lau’s research efforts are highly scientific based. He went on to graduate school at the University of Washington, concentrating in nuclear and physical chemistry, working on his PhD before entering medical school. He studied technology development management and earned his MBA from Oxford. He has been involved in multiple medical and device startups and holds multiple US patents and patent applications. He actively published scientific papers and presented in professional meetings internationally. Currently, he is a clinical faculty at the School of Medicine (OB-GYN) of the University of Washington and a visiting scholar at the School of Engineering (EECS) of the University of California Irvine.
Dr. Lau insists that the services provided at IntimMed are scientifically sound, and he is doing active research to support and enhance such efforts.
Advances research – IntimMed Lab
- Attraction and perception research
- Neurocosmetics
- Regenerative Aesthetics
Dr. Lau has been involved in regenerative aesthetics since his cosmetic surgery training with Dr. Robert Alexander over 25 years ago. Dr. Alexander pioneered the use of PRP for fat grafting breast augmentation. Since then, PRP and other regenerative agents have been developed to be used in aesthetics for multiple applications. Exosomes – extracellular vehicles (EVs) generated by all cells and they carry nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and metabolites – are increasingly used for regenerative medicine. Since exosomes are mediators of near and long-distance intercellular communication, the use of exosomes from multipotent stem cells is used to leverage those mediators specializing in regeneration and healing for regenerative aesthetics applications. Some of the biggest challenges in using exosomes for aesthetics are:
- The lack of standardization for exosomes – the source of the stem cells, the characterization of the EVs, the preservation of the EVs and the messengers therein, and the effectiveness of said messengers.
- How to take the exosomes from the lab or clinics to formulate a consumer skincare product while preserving the effectiveness of the messengers?
Dr. Lau at IntimMed Lab is actively developing strategies and technologies to enable the use of effective regenerative agents in skincare products.
