Stephen Kearton

Biography

 Stephen is an industrial /cosmetic chemist who has 40 years experience in manufacturing across a range of chemical industries always involved in the process, the manufacturing, the equipment, and the documentation.  He started out his career with a consulting civil engineering firm working on the technical aspects of such projects including the Hunter District Water Board Strategy Study, ocean outfall investigations for domestic and industrial waste, including hydrological investigations and marine surveying and the Cockatoo Island Liquid Waste Disposal Study. During this time he even designed drains for the upgrade of the Brisbane International Airport.  His first manufacturing position was with polyester/alkyd manufacturing facility, taking it from a vacant site through to a 2 shift 50 tonne per day operation. This was followed by making explosives, taking vacant sites and setting up processing operations for cap sensitive explosives, ANFO and bulk explosives.  Working the therapeutic / cosmetic arena started around the same time as the TGA started, thus he has been involved with TGA manufacturing from the start.  Stephen has presented numerous lectures, including a paper dealing with synthetic peptide surfactants.  The extremely diverse background and experience comes together giving Stephen a comprehensive knowledge of all facets of the business - including product development, process methods, equipment design, and many of the potential issues that may arise during the transition from concept to manufacture.  As an individual, he is proud that his company is big enough to deal with many opportunities but small enough to care. 

Research Interest

 Dermatologic Diseases