From Childhood Curiosity to Scientific Discovery

Long before Salma Younes became a scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and internationally recognized researcher, she was simply a curious child who wanted to understand how things worked.

At around 11 years old, Salma was already fascinated by formulations. She would experiment with different ingredients and observe how changing one component could completely transform the final result. She did not know then that these small experiments were pointing toward her future.

That early curiosity eventually developed into an academic and professional journey centered on biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences. Over the years, Salma moved from learning about existing technologies to asking a more ambitious question: what if established approaches could be redesigned entirely?

That question has become one of the defining forces behind her career.

Today, the Egyptian scientist is based in Qatar, where she works as a postdoctoral researcher at Qatar University’s College of Medicine. Alongside her academic work, she is also building a deep tech company focused on translating scientific research into practical applications.

Her journey reflects a growing shift in modern science, where researchers are not only studying problems but also developing technologies that can move from laboratories into people’s everyday lives.

Building a New Approach to Formulation Science

At the center of Salma’s entrepreneurial journey is Porcelis, a Canadian deep tech dermocosmetics startup based in Montreal, Quebec, which she co founded.

The company is built around a patented material platform that challenges a familiar concept in formulation science.

Traditional gels commonly depend on polymers or thickening agents to create their structure and texture. Porcelis takes a different route by using mineral materials that can self assemble into a gel like structure without relying on conventional gelling agents.

The difference may sound technical, but its potential is much broader.

By exploring polymer free mineral gels, Salma and her team are investigating a new category of materials that could have applications across dermocosmetics and biomedical formulations.

For Salma, the innovation is not simply about creating another skincare product. It represents a different way of thinking about how formulations can be designed from the beginning.

That willingness to question established methods is closely connected to the curiosity that first shaped her interest in science.

Porcelis is currently incubated at District 3 Innovation Hub at Concordia University in Montreal and Qatar Science and Technology Park in Qatar, creating a bridge between research, entrepreneurship, and commercialization across two innovation ecosystems.

When Scientific Research Becomes Entrepreneurship

Moving an idea from a laboratory into the commercial world requires a different mindset.

Scientific research can take years of experimentation, testing, refinement, and validation. Entrepreneurship adds another layer of complexity, requiring researchers to understand markets, partnerships, product development, positioning, and long term business strategy.

For Salma, this transition has become an important part of her current chapter.

Her focus is now on bringing Porcelis’s patented technology to market, beginning with its first dermocosmetic application. After years of research and formulation development, the goal is to move toward commercial launch, international expansion, and strategic partnerships that can help the technology reach a wider audience.

This stage represents a significant shift in her journey.

The laboratory remains important, but the question is no longer only whether the science works. The larger question is how that science can become something useful, scalable, and meaningful in the real world.

That is where Salma’s roles as scientist, inventor, and founder increasingly come together.

Recognition That Reflects Years of Research

Salma’s scientific journey has already received international attention.

She was recognized by Forbes Middle East in its 30 Under 30 2024 list in the Science and Technology category. The recognition highlighted her research into sustainable antimicrobial hydrogels and her work on a two dimensional diphosphate nanocrystalline hydrogel with potential applications in skincare and infection control.

The recognition came after years of research and collaboration, making it more than a professional milestone. For Salma, it represented the visibility that can come when scientific ideas begin showing potential beyond the laboratory.

Her work has also earned recognition from MIT Technology Review Arabia, which selected her among its Innovators Under 35 MENA 2025.

With more than 55 scientific publications to her name, Salma has developed a strong academic foundation while simultaneously exploring the entrepreneurial possibilities of her research.

She was also recently elected a Full Member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, adding another significant milestone to her growing scientific career.

These achievements show a career developing across several connected areas rather than following a single traditional path.

A Woman Building Her Place in Deep Tech

For Salma, one of the most meaningful parts of her journey is being a woman building a career in deep technology.

Science and deep tech remain fields where women are still underrepresented, particularly when research moves toward invention, commercialization, and entrepreneurship.

Salma’s experience demonstrates what can happen when scientific expertise is combined with the confidence to pursue an unconventional idea.

Porcelis did not emerge overnight. It grew from years of collaborative laboratory research, experimentation, and the development of a material concept that challenged conventional expectations.

Helping transform that research into a patented platform, a company, and a product approaching the market has become one of Salma’s proudest achievements.

Yet her definition of success extends beyond patents, publications, or recognition.

One of the moments she values most is hearing from younger women who tell her that her journey has helped them imagine themselves pursuing science, invention, or deep tech entrepreneurship.

For Salma, that impact may ultimately become one of the most important outcomes of her work.

Salma Younes Learning to Believe in the Impossible

Every scientific breakthrough begins with a question.

For Salma, the willingness to keep asking questions has been essential.

During her laboratory work, she encountered ideas that did not always align with conventional expectations. Some possibilities were difficult to explain at first, and the results did not necessarily make immediate sense.

Instead of abandoning the idea, she continued experimenting, adjusting formulations, testing possibilities, and learning from the evidence.

That experience shaped a lesson she now carries into both science and entrepreneurship.

What appears impossible may simply be something that has not yet been achieved.

Existing knowledge provides the foundation, but curiosity encourages people to look beyond what is already understood. It creates space for new questions, unexpected results, and alternative solutions.

For Salma, progress requires both confidence and patience. An idea may begin with one person’s belief in a possibility, but it must eventually be supported by experimentation, evidence, and persistence.

That philosophy has become central to how she approaches her work.

The Bigger Vision Behind Porcelis

While the first focus for Porcelis is dermocosmetics, Salma sees possibilities extending much further.

The material platform could potentially support future applications across dermocosmetic, pharmaceutical, and medical formulations.

Her larger ambition is to establish a new category of polymer free, self assembling mineral gels and influence how researchers and companies think about formulation design.

That vision places Porcelis at the intersection of materials science, healthcare, beauty, and entrepreneurship.

It also reflects the evolution of Salma’s own career.

The young girl who once mixed ingredients simply to understand what would happen has grown into a researcher asking much bigger questions about what materials can do and how scientific discoveries can become practical solutions.

Staying Curious, Learning and Moving Forward

Salma’s journey is still developing.

The next stage is focused on commercialization, partnerships, international growth, and continuing to explore where her technology can create meaningful impact.

But behind all these ambitions is a remarkably simple philosophy.

Stay curious.

Salma often draws inspiration from Albert Einstein’s words, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

The quote captures the mindset that has followed her from childhood experimentation to scientific research and deep tech entrepreneurship.

Her story is ultimately not just about awards, publications, patents, or a startup. It is about the courage to investigate an idea when the answer is not obvious and the patience to keep going when the path is uncertain.

For aspiring scientists and young women entering innovation, Salma’s journey offers a powerful reminder that curiosity can be the beginning of something much bigger.

Sometimes, the most important breakthrough starts with a simple question and the decision not to stop searching for the answer.

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