Speaker Spotlight

AJ Addae is a Ghanaian-American chemical biology PhD candidate at the University of California Los Angeles, and the founder of SULA LABS – a cosmetic laboratory that formulates and clinically tests products for beauty companies in retailers such as Sephora, Credo Beauty and Ulta Beauty. 

AJ’s research focuses on formulating skincare solutions for darker skin tones, as well as optimizing and engineering cosmetically elegant sunscreens for photoprotection of darker skin tones. AJ’s cosmetic science research is published in peer reviewed journals, and she is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, a Center for Diverse Leadership in Science Fellow and a Future Laboratory 100 Innovators Awardee. AJ’s work has been featured in outlets such as CBS News, United Nations Economics Commission for Africa (UNECA), Essence, Beauty Independent, UCLA newsroom, and many more. 

She is ultimately driven by her innate passion for using chemistry and clinical research as a means of change for the health of skin of color.