Dave Allen, PhD

Dave Allen, PhD, is Senior Director, Human Health Sciences and Operations at the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety.

Prior to joining ICCS, Dave was President of Integrated Laboratory Systems, LLC until its acquisition in 2022 by Inotiv, Inc. where he has since served as Vice President of Inotiv, RTP.

Dave was Principal Investigator of the National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) support contract, helping to advance the development and implementation of alternative methods across a wide range of industry and government stakeholders. 

Dave has served as President of the American Society for Cellular and Computational Toxicology, President of the Society of Toxicology – In Vitro and Alternative Methods Specialty Section. He received his PhD from North Carolina State University.

Julia Baines, PhD

Dr. Julia Baines has a PhD from the University of Liverpool, UK, with a background in animal behaviour and welfare and has lectured for many years on animal ethics, law, and philosophy. She advises the Science Consortium on strategies to minimise the use of animals under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulatory framework, communicating with the European Commission and European Parliament and representing the Science Consortium as a European Chemicals Agency–accredited stakeholder organisation.

Tara Barton-Maclaren, PhD

Dr. Tara Barton-Maclaren is the Research Manager of the Emerging Approaches Unit of Health Canada’s Existing Substances Risk Assessment Bureau. She has been contributing to human health risk assessments and methods development under Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan since 2007 following the completion of her PhD in Reproductive Toxicology from McGill University. She is a leader in translational research bridging innovations in modern toxicology research and human health risk assessment and serves as the focal point for the development and implementation of new approach methods and strategies for the assessment of chemicals existing in the Canadian marketplace. Dr. Barton-Maclaren is active at the international level leading and contributing to initiatives aiming to replace, reduce and refine animal toxicity testing including efforts under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Accelerating the Pace of Chemical Risk Assessment (APCRA). Areas of focus and dynamic collaboration both nationally and internationally include QSAR, computational toxicology, In Vitro testing models and Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment to support regulatory decision-making.

Carlos Berzunza Sánchez

Carlos Berzunza is the Executive President of the Mexican Cosmetic and Home Care Products Association (CANIPEC) and the President of the Latin American Cosmetics, Personal Care and Home Care Association (CASIC). Carlos has a Law degree and five post-graduate diplomas in legal matters. He previously held positions in the Mexican Ministry of Education and the Mexican Standards Agency. He is also the Honorary Consul of Iceland in Mexico City and 25 States in Mexico.

Patience Browne, PhD

Dr. Patience Browne leads the Hazard Assessment and Exposure Assessment Programmes in the Environment, Health, and Safety Division of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France. She joined OECD in 2016 in the Test Guidelines Programme, where she coordinated the approval of the first OECD Defined Approach Guidelines for skin sensitisations. Prior to joining the OECD, Dr. Browne was a Senior Scientist in the U.S. EPA, Office of Science Coordination and Policy and earlier in her career, she worked as a wildlife ecologist for the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. 

Patience completed a master’s in marine biology at California State University, a PhD in Physiology at University of California, Davis and held postdoctoral research positions in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction at UC Davis and in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University of Washington. Throughout her career, Dr. Browne has focused on quantifying effects of chemicals on humans and the environment and developing confidence in methods to measure chemical effects that use the best science with the fewest negative impacts on animals.

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John Chave

Director General 

Cosmetics Europe

Carol Courage, PhD

Dr. Courage joined Croda's Product Safety Regulatory Affairs in November 2022 as Global Head of Product Safety based at Cowick. After earning a pharmacology degree she received a PhD from the University College Dublin and then two post docs in cancer research before moving into the chemical risk assessment space. She has worked in safety assessment in various roles for the Institute for Environment and Health, Unilever and No7 Beauty Company across food, home, personal care and cosmetics for more than 20 years. Dr. Courage is a Fellow of the British Toxicology Society (BTS) and set up and chaired the risk assessment specialty group of the BTS before moving on to be General Secretary. She currently is Co-Chair of the Human Health Effects Delivery Team of the International Collaboration on Cosmetic Safety.

Rebecca Dalton, PhD

Dr. Rebecca Dalton is an Acting Senior Science Advisor in the Substance Prioritization, Assessment and Coordination Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada. She leads regulatory ecological risk assessment activities, including several initiatives aimed at modernizing ecological risk assessment. Rebecca is actively involved in the broader scientific community, particularly with the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Canadian Ecotoxicity Workshop where she has served in leadership positions. Rebecca has a PhD in Biology, specializing in Chemical and Environmental Toxicology from the University of Ottawa.

Jay Dawick, MChem

Jay Dawick is currently employed as a Senior Toxicology and Risk Assessment Manager for Innospec, a global specialty chemicals company focused on bringing innovative and disruptive new products to market through three corporate business units: Fuel Specialties, Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services. In this role, Jay manages a small team of human and environmental toxicologists within the global regulatory compliance department and is accountable for the strategic execution and delivery of product safety assessments, registrations, and defence of Innospec products with a sharp focus on the use of non-animal methodologies (NAMs). Jay has over 15 years-experience working in industry on health and environmental hazard and risk assessment of chemicals, is an active member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and he holds a first-class master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool in the UK.

Paul DeLeo, PhD

Dr. Paul C. DeLeo is Senior Director for Chemical Management at the American Chemistry Council. Over the past 25 years, his career has focused on applied research and advocacy related to the human and environmental safety of food ingredients, pesticides, drugs, cosmetics, and cleaning products through positions in government and business. He shares his professional passion for exposure assessment and ecological risk assessment of chemicals in commerce through a number of academic and professional societies.

Michelle Embry, PhD

Michelle Embry received her PhD in Toxicology in 2004 and her BS in Biology and Environmental Science and Policy in 1998 from Duke University. She is currently the Deputy Director of Environmental Science at HESI, where she provides leadership, technical direction, and guidance to varied, multi-stakeholder, collaborative committees on topics related to risk assessment and environmental protection worldwide.

Prior to joining HESI in 2006, Dr. Embry worked as an Ecological Risk Assessor at the U.S. EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs. She has expertise in both human health and ecotoxicology, with an emphasis on integrated approaches and alternative methods. Her current project portfolio includes the Animal Alternatives in Environmental Risk Assessment Committee and the Development of Methods for a Tiered Approach to Assess Bioaccumulation of Chemicals Committee, two of HESI’s projects aimed at improving ecological risk assessment. Dr. Embry’s work also includes the Risk Assessment in the 21st Century (RISK21) Committee, which developed a scientific, transparent, and efficient approach for human health risk assessment, including a web-based tool that has led to outreach and training activities on risk assessment approaches worldwide. In addition, she works with HESI staff and partners on project development related to chemical risk assessment issues.

Dr. Embry is an elected member of the SETAC North America Board of Directors (2014 to present), chair of the SETAC Global Partners Advisory Committee, and a member of the SETAC Bioaccumulation and Animal Alternatives Advisory Group Steering Teams. She is a full member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) and a member of the SOT Risk Assessment and Mixtures Specialty Sections. She was a member of the ECETOC Task Force on Information to be Considered in a Weight-of-Evidence-Based PBT/vPvB Assessment of Chemicals (Annex XIII of REACH) in 2013 to 2014 and was a steering team member of the SETAC Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) Pellston Workshop (Spring 2017). Dr. Embry is also one of the founding partners on the “eco data hub” initiative, started in Fall 2016.

Michael J. Fevola, PhD

Michael Fevola is Vice President of R&D and Product Stewardship at Inolex, a global leader in sustainable ingredient innovation. Mike is a passionate advocate for applying green chemistry to challenge the status quo in the cosmetic industry. His experience includes rising to Research Director and Fellow at Johnson & Johnson Consumer, inventorship on over 100 patents and pending applications worldwide, and serving as Chair of the Personal Care Products Council’s International Nomenclature Committee (INC).

Rakesh Gupta, MTech, PhD (ongoing)

Rakesh Gupta is working with TCS Research since 2013. His research interests are molecular simulation of soft matters, modeling of bio-nano interface. He has published 30+ journal articles, 2 book chapters and filed 28 patents in various geographies out of which 9 patents have been granted. He has received several awards including INAE Young Engineer Award 2019 from Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), TCS Young Scientist Award 2020, Young Achiever award 2022. He is a young associate of INAE.

Erin Hill

Erin comes to ICCS with over 30 years’ experience promoting the widespread use and acceptance of animal free safety testing methods. She has fostered collaborations with industry, animal protection organizations, and regulatory agencies, both foreign and domestic, to help coordinate efforts to advance the use of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in decision making. Erin is widely known for co-founding the non-profit Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS) in 1997, where she most recently served as president.

In addition to her pioneering work in the field, Erin is actively involved in various boards and associations dedicated to NAMs and reducing reliance on animal testing methods. She sits on numerous boards and committees, leveraging her expertise and experience to further the adoption and implementation of ethical testing practices. Her contributions and dedication to the cause have earned her numerous awards and recognition within the scientific and animal protection communities.

Victoria Hull

Victoria is a Senior Bioinformatician at Inotiv where she works as a contractor supporting the NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM). At NICEATM, she leverages her experience in data science, bioinformatics, and statistics to develop computational tools for interpreting toxicological data and build confidence in New Approach Methodologies.

Nicole Kleinstreuer, PhD

Dr. Nicole Kleinstreuer is the director of the NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM), which is the U.S. federal resource for alternatives to animal testing, and the executive director of the congressionally mandated Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). Her work is centered on domestic and international efforts to develop novel testing, modeling, and analysis strategies that provide more rapid, mechanistic, and human-relevant predictions of potential environmental chemical hazards. Dr. Kleinstreuer has adjunct faculty positions in the Yale University School of Public Health and the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has published over 130 peer-reviewed publications and won numerous awards, including the 2022 NIH Director’s Award and the 2019 Society of Toxicology Achievement Award.

Robert Landsiedel, PD, PhD, DABT, Fellow ATS

Robert Landsiedel is Vice President of special toxicology at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. He previously worked for BASF in development, regulatory and management roles in the USA and in Japan. He is an associate professor (Privatdozent) at the Free University of Berlin. His team at BASF is performing more than 500 regulatory toxicological studies per year under GLP, GIVIMP and ISO17020 as well as screenings for product development. In addition, they are developing new toxicological methods and testing strategies.

Anna B. Lowit, PhD

Dr. Anna B. Lowit received her PhD in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Tennessee in 1998 where she was a Graduate Fellow in Sustainable Waste Management. Dr. Lowit began her career with U.S. EPA in 1998. She is currently the Senior Science Advisor in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. She advises senior managers and leads multidisciplinary teams on a variety of cross-cutting topics related to human health and ecological risk assessment. Some of these topics include new approach methods, PBPK models, mode of action/adverse outcome pathways, and cumulative risk assessment. She served as the one of the Co-Chairs of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) from 2013 to 2024. She is the U.S. lead for the OECD Working Party on Hazard Assessment.

Donna Macmillan, PhD

Donna Macmillan, PhD, is Director, Education and Regulatory Engagement at the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety.

She is the former Senior Principal Strategist, Regulatory Science, Humane Society International. Prior to that role, she worked as a Principal Scientist at a leading in silico software organisation sharing her expertise in non-animal skin sensitization and skin/eye irritation safety assessment as well as a medicinal chemist at a pharmaceutical manufacturer. She has led sub-groups within several multi-stakeholder collaborations, including OECD and CIAO. Donna holds a PhD in Organic Medicinal Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Andrea Maltagliati

50 years old, brilliant communicator, eclectic, leader and team builder, has a technical background. A chemistry graduate from the University of Milan, he entered the cosmetics market more than 20 years ago.

He has gained experience from SMEs to multinationals, holding different roles in companies, from R&D lab to technical director, from sales manager to Business Development and Market Manager. He has gained experience both in the local/EU area and in the world market.

He has acquired knowledge of many classes of ingredients, just to name a few: emulsifiers, functional, surfactants, actives.

The international experience he has accumulated over the years and the positioning of

companies/ingredients in the world market has allowed him to sit at important discussion tables such as the International Association and EFfCI WGs.

He is currently Secretary General of EFfCI (European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients), which manages, and coordinates activities related to the needs of the EU ingredient industry, coordinates 8 WGs, defends the activity of the industry and represents it in all global institutional fora and in front of all stakeholders.

Gavin Maxwell, PhD

Dr. Gavin Maxwell is an immunologist by training and has twenty years experience developing, evaluating and applying non-animal approaches for cosmetic safety assessment. Dr. Maxwell is currently Unilever’s Regulatory Science Strategy and Advocacy Director, industry Co-Chair for the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA), and Vice Chair of the ICCS Core Acceptance Team.

Beta Montemayor

Mr. Montemayor is Vice President and Director of Science, Regulation and Market Access at Cosmetics Alliance Canada. Mr. Montemayor is an ecotoxicologist by training and brings over 25 years of experience managing ingredient and product safety testing, regulatory compliance, and advocacy programs in Canada and beyond. Mr. Montemayor began his professional career in ecotoxicity assay development, with the Ontario Ministry of Environment, where he collaborated on early invertebrate testing strategies, before helping to build a consulting practice helping stakeholders navigate chemical and finished product notifications and registrations in Canada and abroad.

In 2008, Mr. Montemayor took on his present role, where he has led several initiatives to modernize regulatory approaches and advance next generation safety and risk assessment practices, including the integration of environmental safety approaches to cosmetic and personal care product assessment frameworks.

Mr. Montemayor has a reputation for being a change-maker and regulatory solutions facilitator who works closely with officials in Canada and abroad to build consensus and trust in science and risk-based regulatory decision-making. Most recently, Mr. Montemayor is focused on the advancement of New Assessment Methodologies (NAMs) to support non-animal safety science and is a vocal proponent for their integration in regulatory frameworks both in Canada and abroad. Mr. Montemayor served as a Co-Chair on the organizing committee responsible for bringing the World Congress on Alternatives to the Use of Animals in the Life Sciences (WC-12) to Niagara Falls in 2023, in addition to taking on the Co-Chair of the ICCS Core Education Team.

Amelie Ott, PhD

Amelie Ott, PhD, is Director, Environmental Sciences at the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety.

Amelie is an experienced scientist and scientific manager with a track record of leading international projects to assess the environmental safety of chemicals and cosmetics.

Prior to that she worked as a project manager at Newcastle University co-leading the validation and standardization of a new biodegradation method. She also worked as a parliamentary researcher for the UK Parliament and as a scientific secretary consultant for the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC). She is a visiting researcher at Newcastle University, representing the UK in an OECD Expert Group. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC).

She holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering on Emerging Contaminants from Newcastle University.

Véronique Poulsen, PhD

Véronique is a 25-year experienced ecotoxicologist, with 10 years of experience in a research institute on method development, and 11 years at Anses (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety) on risk assessment of pesticides, as head of the Ecotoxicology and Environmental-fate Unit. She joined L’Oréal in 2017 to build and lead the Environmental Safety Department.

In the framework of worldwide regulations and of consumers’ increasing environmental concerns, the objective is to go beyond and anticipate worldwide regulations on environmental safety of cosmetic ingredients and develop dedicated testing and assessment strategies.

She chairs the Environmental Science Expert Team at Cosmetics Europe (European Cosmetics trade association), the Core Science Team of the ICCS (International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety), and the Science Committee of SETAC Europe (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry).

Beena Rai, PhD

A PhD from India’s premier research institution – National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Beena joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Research two and half decades ago, where currently she is leading Physical Sciences Research. Her pioneering research in Computational Material Engineering, especially leveraging physics-based models and data analytics tools and techniques in the design, development & deployment of materials and chemicals has led to the creation of top-notch research papers and granted patents/patent applications.

Her research has not only been instrumental in getting significant mindshare of TCS Customers but also resulted in real dollar values. Due to her pathbreaking research outcomes, Beena has received several awards and recognitions, like prestigious Chevening Scholarship at Said Business School, University of Oxford, UK; TCS Distinguished Scientist Award, Distinguished Alumnus of National Chemical Laboratory Pune, India, to name a few.

She is an elected Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (FINAE). Beena has been part of many global research alliances. Beena serves as reviewer of several prestigious journals, has organized many national and international conferences and delivered several invited/keynote lectures.

Caroline Rainsford

Caroline joined CTPA in 2016 and is currently Director of Science.

Caroline first joined the cosmetics industry in 2012, working for L’Oréal UK and Ireland as a Scientific Advisor. Her background is in chemistry, graduating from the University of Oxford in 2011 with a Masters degree. Caroline’s role at CTPA focuses on developing the Association’s scientific strategy, managing ingredient issues and promoting communications on the safety of cosmetics. 

Caroline represents CTPA on several committees at Cosmetics Europe and is Chair of the Expert Team Ingredient Monitoring and Assessment, bringing together knowledge and expertise from a variety of ingredients issues. She represents CTPA on the Core Acceptance Team of the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS).

Caroline is actively involved in advocacy with the UK Government on issues concerning cosmetic ingredients and its wider chemicals strategy.

Francesca Rapolla

Francesca has a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, specialising in Cosmetic Science. She works at CTPA as Scientific Affairs Manager. Previously, Francesca worked in Regulatory Affairs and Research & Development for a number of companies, gaining knowledge in product compliance, claims and claims substantiation requirements for the UK and Ireland.



As part of the CTPA scientific team, Francesca is responsible for monitoring ingredients developments under chemicals regulations relevant for cosmetic ingredients and products, safety, cosmetovigilance, nanomaterials, New Approach Methodologies and alternatives to animal testing, and other scientific matters for cosmetics. Francesca is also responsible for work related to REACH, in particular collaborating with the UK Government and other stakeholders on the implementation of UK REACH post-Brexit.

Heike Scheffler, PhD

Dr. Scheffler studied veterinary medicine at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen, Germany, completing her PhD in the Pharmacology Unit of the Human Medicine Faculty, and became interested in toxicology during her Post Doc. She later became a veterinarian specialized in pharmacology and toxicology. Dr. Scheffler's first role in industry was in the insecticide division of Ciba-Geigy, Switzerland, where she learned how to design and interpret toxicological studies in a very regulated environment.

When Dr. Scheffler moved into the cosmetic industry joining Wella, animal test bans were not yet in place; however, the company had already established labs to identify non-animal methods for local endpoints. When Wella was acquired by Procter & Gamble, she initially continued to manage the Human Safety section for professional hair products but expanded into regulatory positions in various product categories before she returned into the role of Global Human Safety Director for Hair Care. Throughout all roles, the implementation of non-animal approaches into products’ safety assessments was always a passion area for Dr. Scheffler. She Co-Chairs the ICCS Strategic Planning Team.

Kristie Sullivan, MPH

Ms. Sullivan joined the IIVS team in 2023 to lead its Education and Outreach programs which are designed to advance the IIVS mission. These programs include organizing workshops and trainings to advance acceptance and use of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), engaging with toxicologists and stakeholders to develop educational materials and resources, and acting as an information resource to industry, government, and the animal protection community.

Prior to joining IIVS, Ms. Sullivan served as Vice President for Research Policy at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, where she led a team charged with developing, promoting, and implementing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for the testing of drugs, chemicals, and other products. She has 20 years experience advancing NAMs through scientific scholarship, validation, policy advocacy, and outreach. Ms. Sullivan has served on a number of OECD committees related to specific animal testing and NAM issues, and has provided advice and training to state and federal agencies, including as a past member of the Pesticide Program Dialog Committee and ad hoc FIFRA Science Advisory Panel and Board of Scientific Counselors reviews. She is currently a member of the executive boards of the Society for the Advancement of Adverse Outcome Pathways, the Society of Toxicology In Vitro and Alternative Methods Specialty Section, and the American Society for Cellular and Computational Toxicology, of which she is a founding member, and the editorial board of Computational Toxicology and Frontiers in In Vitro Toxicology.

Homer Swei, PhD

SVP Healthy Living Science at EWG. Connecting people, organizations, and ideas to change the trajectory of consumer health. After 30 years overseeing some of the world’s most iconic brands in the private sector, Homer now leads EWG’s groundbreaking consumer product databases and spearheads the EWG Verified program. He received his BS at UC Berkeley and PhD at Northwestern University. Homer is an artist, scientist, and consumer advocate.

Marize Campos Valdares, PhD

Full Professor of Toxicology at the Pharmacy School, Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Brazil. Founder and Director of the Laboratory of Education and Research in In Vitro Toxicology (Tox In) at UFG. Member of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) Cosmetics Technical Chamber (CATEC). Elect Coordinator at ASTOXLATIN and Elect Vice-President of SBTox. National Member of the Brazilian Network of Alternative Methods. Principal Investigator of a research group with 20 participants.

Catherine Willett, PhD

Dr. Willett's work at HSI focusses on the science and policy of replacing animals in chemical safety assessment. She has been a member of several expert and management groups at the OECD, the U.S. EPA TSCA Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals, the U.S. National Toxicology Program SACATM and several advisory committees and boards for industry and NGOs. Her prior research career focused on zebrafish in both academia and industry. Dr. Willet's MS and PhD are in Genetics from the University of California, Davis.