When Jiye Son was a teenager on Long Island working part time in a nail salon, she became aware of the health challenges posed by the dangerous combination of toxic chemicals in nail polish and the salon’s poor ventilation. Years later, that experience would become the spark for her novel approach to creating a safer, non-toxic film that can be used for nail polish and many other applications.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Son moved to the US with her family at the age of 10 and grew up in Long Island, New York. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Stony Brook University. After a year working at Estée Lauder in safety and toxicology, she realized she wanted to be in the lab doing research rather than sitting behind a desk. Son came to CUNY to pursue her PhD in nanotechnology and materials chemistry. Upon graduating, she began working at CUNY’s Advanced Science Resource Center (ASRC) as associate director of the Nanoscience Initiative, where she led programs to foster entrepreneurship and academic-industry collaborations.
During that time, Son thought of designing self-assembling peptides—short peptides that can self-assemble into nanomaterials. These can mimic the functions of proteins without the complexity that natural proteins have or needing to rely upon volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are linked to numerous health risks, including cancer.
“Nails are made of keratin, which is a protein,” said Son. “I knew from working in nail salons that inhaling the chemicals in nail polish presented a host of health challenges. Nail polish contains many of the same chemicals we use in the lab—but in a nail salon, you’re without proper ventilation or protection. My vision was to create a keratin-like film made of peptides, that can act like nail polish—that’s why I initially called my company Keratin Nails.”
While there are some nail polish brands in the marketplace that offer less-toxic formulas, most of these products do not last as long as traditional nail polish does. “That’s why customers aren’t using it as much,” said Son. “I saw a technical challenged that needed to be solved.”
“Most nail polishes on the market are made with nitrocellulose, which is basically gun powder—that’s why it’s flammable,” added Son. “Acrylic nail polishes can also leach directly into your skin. Because of the VOCs emitted in the enclosed environment of a salon, it’s even more harmful for nail salon workers than for the customers getting manicures.”
Son learned about I-Corps while working at ASRC during an informational session hosted with the New York I-Corps Hub. She first participated in a regional I-Corps cohort in summer of 2022, followed by an accelerator program hosted by Communitas America, a New York State-certified incubator focused on BIPOC and women-led social ventures.
“These programs were a great way for a scientist to learn about the business side of things,” said Son. “I did enough research to see that there was a need in the market as consumers look for cleaner, safer alternatives.”
By the summer of 2023, Son decided that she wanted to focus on Keratin Nails full-time. Her research and business concept were quickly receiving acclaim. She was a winner of the Mount Sinai Diversity Innovation Hub 2023 Pitch Competition, and this past spring, Son became one of four CUNY graduates to be awarded a prestigious and highly competitive Activate Fellowship, which provides early-stage science entrepreneurs with funding, technical resources, and support from a network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.
“I was successful in my second application for an Activate Fellowship, which started in June,” said Son. “I decided to focus solely on my research and my company—and it’s been fun!”
Son participated in a national NSF I-Corps cohort in Spring 2024, which helped her to see the potential for a broader application of her technology. “I didn’t make the shift until nationals, when I started to look at much bigger industries, like paints, adhesives, biomedical, and cosmetics,” said Son. She is now focused on developing new materials, using bio-derived ingredients to make coatings—for nails, but also paints and other industrial applications.
“Three billion metric greenhouse gases are produced annually from petroleum-derived coatings, like latex paint, hair dyes, and textiles,” said Son. “My vision is to replace those with safer, bio-derived alternatives.” Son has also rebranded her company as Anew Material Inc.
Son described I-Corps’ emphasis on getting out of the lab and talking to people as the biggest lesson she took from the program. “That can be a really big barrier at first, but I-Corps forces you to do it,” she said. “Once you get a couple of interviews done, you begin to build that muscle and it gets easier. It was great having that structure and requirement.”
Son is also applying for an NIH SBIR grant, framing her work as focused on improving health inequities. “Looking at the nail polish application again, a nail salon in a lower-income neighborhood is not going to have the best ventilation or necessarily have safer, alternative nail polishes,” she said. “We are working to offer a solution.”
Son shared that her company is still in the research and development phase. “We have proof of concept in the lab, and we are testing to see how it performs while keeping it at a competitive cost,” she said. “It is very expensive to create it in the way we originally envisioned. We have pivoted a few times. That’s why it’s hard to move away from petroleum-based products, because they are so cheap to produce!”
“When you use sustainable materials, the cost of ingredients is higher,” she added. “For example, everyone needs to start shifting to bio-derived; we are seeing more of it, but it’s still in the R&D phase for many companies. The key is to make it cost-effective and create a product that will perform just as well or better than what’s on the market now.”
Son continues to rely on NY I-Corps Hub and NYC Innovation Hot Spot resources. She’s utilizing a CUNY launch program that subsidizes interns, and she previously attended a grant writing workshop for NSF SBIR applicants that was hosted by the NYC Hot Spot. Son has also benefitted from support from Tavis Ezell, the ASRC CAT (Center of Advanced Technology) business development director. “Tavis was instrumental in helping me to secure resources through CUNY,” Son said. “Now I have a sponsored research project with CUNY, and he’s helping with that as well.”
Applications for the Activate Cohort 2025 are open until October 23, 2024: https://www.activate.org/apply