15 December 2023
Aida Hansen from the University of Southern Denmark, Terkild Brink Buus from the University of Copenhagen, and Stine Rønholt from the University of Copenhagen are the first researchers to receive a LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowship. The three Assistant Professors are recognized for their great potential as research leaders, as they show promise of becoming influential scientists within their fields, with high ambitions to inspire novel and important insights into the skin and skin diseases.
The LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowships is a new grant instrument – each fellowship worth DKK 12 million for a five-year period – established in 2023 to support skin research talents who have the ambition to establish or expand an independent research group at a not-for-profit Danish research institution, and who are also starting their careers as research leaders.
The fellowships pursue the LEO Foundation’s strategy and aim of strengthening the pipeline of excellent skin researchers, and to support the investigation of novel and important research questions within skin and skin diseases.
Assistant Professor Aida Hansen, Assistant Professor Terkild Brink Buus, and Assistant Professor Stine Rønholt impressed both external (independent) and internal reviewers with their visions and plans for their skin research, during the review process. International collaborations were amongst the main ambitions of the scientists, as they will strive to cultivate global research communities, with important contributions hoped for from their groups.
In 2023, emerging leaders could apply to LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowships within one of two themes – Skin Immunology and Inflammatory Skin Diseases, and Skin Physiology and Cutaneous Drug Delivery.
Anne-Marie Engel, Chief Scientific Officer at the LEO Foundation, describes her excitement at seeing such talented skin researchers apply through the themes:
“We are, at the LEO Foundation, very thrilled to have seen such excellent profiles apply for LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowships in 2023. This year’s fellows particularly impressed us through their interviews, where they confidently communicated their inspiring and ambitious plans for their skin research, demonstrating their great potential as emerging leaders. We are already very much looking forward to opening applications again in 2024 through our yearly thematic call, where we are also hoping to see international profiles applying to the program, with a keenness to drive their research through Danish institutions.”
Anne-Marie Engel
Meet the Dr Abildgaard Fellows 2023
Aida Hansen, who will relocate to the Department of Molecular Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark as Assistant Professor, receives a fellowship – worth DKK 12 million for a five-year period – for her research seeking to improve the treatment options for psoriasis patients by contributing to a more detailed understanding of the role that extracellular vesicles play in mediating the cellular cross-talk and driving the inflammatory processes in the disease.
Aida Hansen’s project is granted through this year’s research theme, Skin Immunology and Inflammatory Skin Diseases. Her grant will support her move to the University of Southern Denmark, where she will establish a research team through the recruitment of a PhD student, Postdocs, and a laboratory technician.
Terkild Brink Buus, Assistant Professor at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center at the University of Copenhagen, receives a fellowship – worth DKK 12 million for a five-year period – for his research building on expertise in complex data analysis and research on aberrant T cells and skin inflammation, to explore how bacteria and their toxins may worsen Atopic Dermatitis.
Terkild Brink Buus’ project is granted through this year’s research theme, Skin Immunology and Inflammatory Skin Diseases. His grant will support the establishment of a research team through recruitment of a PhD student and a laboratory technician.
Stine Rønholt, Assistant Professor at the LEO Foundation Center for Cutaneous Drug Delivery at the University of Copenhagen, receives a fellowship – worth DKK 12 million for a five-year period – for her exploration of new ways to treat chronic skin issues (like eczema) directly on the affected parts of the skin. Her plan is to explore a novel approach using “ionic liquids”, which has shown a great potential to effectively treat eczema by local administration.
Stine Rønholt’s project is granted through this year’s research theme, Skin Physiology and Cutaneous Drug Delivery. Her grant will support the expansion of her research team by the recruitment of PhD students and a Postdoc, as well as help fund new equipment.
About LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowships
The LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowships program aims to support talented, emerging research leaders, both Danish and international, with ambitions to establish or expand an independent research group at a not-for-profit Danish research institution, and to pursue novel and important research questions within skin and skin diseases.
The LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowship program is thematic and is announced once a year in open competition. Grants of DKK 12 million are awarded for a five-year period.
In 2024 the application deadline is 17 April (16:00 CEST). Applicants can apply within one of the two themes, Advanced Therapeutics Research in Skin Diseases and Systems Medicine in Dermatology. Read more about the program and eligibility criteria here.
About the LEO Foundation
The LEO Foundation is one of the largest private funders globally of independent skin research. The Foundation provides philanthropic grants with the aim to support the best international research in skin diseases and make Denmark a global beacon for skin research. Over the past decade, the LEO Foundation has given more than DKK 1 billion in grants and awards to independent skin – in Denmark and all over the world.