Explore our grantees and awardees

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: USA

This project led by Dr. Nathan Archer investigates the interplay between bacterial colonization and a specific immune cell, the eosinophil, in development of atopic dermatitis (AD).

AD is a very common skin disease, particularly amongst young people, and the associated healthcare costs in the U.S. alone are estimated at USD 5.2 billion. Thus, there is a strong incentive to better understand the disease to improve its treatment.

The cause of AD is still unclear, but one interesting observation is that a specific type of immune cell, the eosinophil, infiltrates the affected areas and correlates with disease severity. The role of these eosinophils in AD remains unknown, but initial observations by Dr. Archer and his team point to a link between skin colonization of a specific bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, and the observed infiltration – which may lead to both inflammation and itch. This bacteria-immune cell interaction is unusual, and Dr. Archer and his team will investigate the observed interaction in detail, with an aim to provide novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of AD.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Ireland

Chronic itch (pruritus) is a major symptom of numerous dermatological and systemic diseases, which substantially impairs patients’ quality of life, resulting in considerable socioeconomic costs. Current treatment options have insufficient efficacy or side effects, and do not treat the underlying cause of itch. Thus, there is a significant unmet medical need for a better efficacy, longer lasting and safer therapy.

Specifically, Jianghui and her team will focus on understanding the role of b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) signaling, which is known to be pivotal in the development and transmission of itch, yet no effective therapeutics targeting this molecule have so far been developed. To address this knowledge gap, the team will investigate the pathways in detail, validate the involved molecules as potential targets for anti-itch drugs and develop therapeutic candidates that can interrupt several key molecular events of BNP signaling, including release of BNP and its pruritogenic effect.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: USA

Amanda Nelson’s project investigates the role of two proteins, E-cadherin and p120, in the relatively common inflammatory skin disease Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS), which is characterized by skin lesions that cause intense pain, odor, drainage and scarring.

The cause of HS remains unclear, and this limits the current treatment options. The current hypothesis is that there is a blockage in the hair follicle unit, which triggers the immune response. Amanda and her team have found that E-cadherin and p120, both important for skin integrity, are lost in HS-affected skin, and their project seeks to understand how this loss may contribute to the hair follicle breakdown and subsequent inflammation. If the link is proven it may provide novel approaches for treatment of HS.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Germany

Sarah Hedtrich, who is also Associate Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of British Columbia, leads this project focusing on developing novel ways to treat genetic skin diseases through intra-skin delivery methods.

Skin diseases caused by specific genetic defects (genodermatoses) are often rare but can be severe and even life threatening – like epidermolysis bullosa. To cure such diseases, the genetic errors which cause the diseases would need to be corrected. In recent years there have been major advances in targeted gene editing – not least with the CRISPR/Cas system which allows for both tissue- and cell-specific correction.

However, while the skin is readily accessible it has two features which impede such treatment: Firstly, the skin’s barrier function makes efficient delivery difficult, and secondly, as the skin is an epithelium with rapid turnover of the cells, a persistent cure involving gene editing must reach the stem cells which lie at the base of the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin.

Sarah and her team, with expertise in both dermatology, gene editing and topical drug delivery, aim to develop such a delivery system for gene correction treatments using microneedles and nanocapsules, and will investigate its efficiency in both human skin samples and bioengineered skin (disease) models.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Denmark

The project by Tim Tolker-Nielsen aims to identify novel chemical compounds as potential drug leads for treating bacterial involvement in atopic dermatitis. The present project builds on findings from another LEO Foundation grant, which discovered a central factor, Sbi, responsible for the virulence (the ability to cause disease) of the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus in atopic dermatitis flares. As this factor appears to be unique to that bacterium it can be targeted with minimal impact expected on beneficial commensal (i.e. non-pathogenic) bacteria. Tim and his team will utilize existing libraries of chemical compounds to screen for lead candidates that can prevent the production of Sbi and which may be developed into a future treatment for atopic dermatitis flares.