Explore our grantees and awardees

Grant category: Standalone grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

This grant will support BIOSKIN 2.0, enabling the continuation of BIOSKIN (The Copenhagen Translational Skin Immunology Biobank and Research Program) at the Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital. The program focuses on translational research by expanding analysis of longitudinal patient data and patient samples, integrating advanced skin immunology and omics technologies and including the establishment of a comprehensive data biobank. The overall aim is to identify new prognostic biomarkers and targets for improved treatment of some of the most common inflammatory skin diseases.

Grant category: Standalone grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Innovation District Copenhagen (IDC) is a newly established association aimed at building a strong international innovation environment in Copenhagen. The initiative brings together research, education, and industry with a shared focus on translating knowledge into solutions that create societal value.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards

Year: 2025

Geography: Korea

Dr. Joon Seok is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Dermatology at Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul in Korea.

He received the 2025 LEO Foundation Award for the Asia-Pacific region during the 50^th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for investigative Dermatology. Dr. Joon Seok is recognized for his outstanding contributions to advancing our understanding of skin diseases.

The LEO Foundation Award – worth USD 100,000 – recognizes outstanding young researchers and scientists from around the world whose work represents an extraordinary contribution to skin research and has the potential to pave the way for new and improved treatments for skin diseases.

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Grant category: LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

This project proposes to develop an all-in-one wearable patch consisting of microneedles, microfluidics, and CRISPR assays with an electrochemical readout for diagnosis and treatment monitoring of psoriasis. The microneedles will be used for ISF sampling to access nucleic acids, which are driven through the microfluidic channels to the CRISPR-system, and their quick, on-body detection without any target amplification. During the research visit, Santanu Patra will build microneedles and an electrochemical readout at DTU, then combine them with the microfluidics and CRISPR assays at MIBE/TUM with Prof. Can Dincer and then work with Prof. Alexander Zink at TUM Dermatology on patient sample analysis in the next phase. The grant will support collaboration between DTU and TUM, which will foster technology exchange and knowledge sharing to develop a working prototype with patient data demonstrating the real-time applicability of the patch for personalized psoriasis monitoring, and potential extension to other inflammatory skin diseases.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers

Year: 2025

Geography: Peru

When skin becomes chronically inflamed, the immune system can form specialized deposits of immune cells called tertiary lymphoid structures to produce defenses and activate immune cells. However, the characteristics and function of these structures remain poorly understood in chronic skin infections caused by viruses, such as Hydroa Vacciniforme (by Epstein-Barr virus) and Infective Dermatitis (by Human T-cell Leukemia virus type I). Moreover, these structures may paradoxically worsen inflammation over time or contribute to cancer transformation. During his visit to the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center at the University of Copenhagen, Daniel Jair Enriquez Vera will leverage advanced lab methods and imaging techniques to understand these structures in collaboration with Peruvian institutions. This visit aims to characterize these structures, ultimately leading to the discovery of new ways to predict cancer transformation and new treatments to control their function during viral infection.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers

Year: 2025

Geography: Germany

Chronic and infected wounds remain a major challenge, often leading to delayed healing and extensive antibiotic use. The purpose of this project is to develop smart wound dressings made of nanofibers that mimic the skin’s natural extracellular matrix and contain thermotropic liquid crystals. When the wound temperature rises due to infection, these materials respond by changing color and releasing antibiotics. During a six-month research stay at the University of Copenhagen’s LEO Foundation Center for Cutaneous Drug Delivery, Dr. Mariia Nesterkina will combine expertise in liquid crystals and nanofiber technology to design, fabricate and test these infection-sensitive scaffolds. The expected output is a proof-of-concept wound dressing that both promotes healing and visibly indicates infection, offering a patient-friendly approach to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and improve wound care.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellowships

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

The LEO Foundation Dr Abildgaard Fellows received a two-year leadership coaching program as an add-on grant to their existing fellowship.

The LEO Foundation Fellows Leadership Coaching Program (LCP) will help identifying the fellow’s key strengths as well as their potential key leadership obstacles and situations they find most challenging within leadership – and how to handle these situations. During the coaching sessions they will identify and train new leadership skills going forward which can help them perform even better.

Potential themes for the leadership coaching sessions could be elements from the following sections:

• Learn more about your leadership style and get the best out of it
• Setting up – and leading the team
• Stakeholder Management
• Mentoring

Grant category: Research Networking

Year: 2025

Geography: Germany

The Eczema and Psoriasis Research Incubator will be held on September 16, 2026, adjacent to the ESDR annual meeting in Heidelberg, Germany. This workshop is designed to accelerate progress in the understanding and treatment of psoriasis and eczema by fostering cross-disease and cross-disciplinary collaboration with patients, doctors, and researchers. Through interactive small-group challenge labs, participants will co-develop innovative research ideas with the potential to inform future multicenter studies, biomarker discovery, and precision medicine approaches. Dedicated opportunities for early-career researchers to showcase their work and facilitate their involvement in collaborations will ensure equitable participation and strengthen the global research pipeline. Open to international attendees, this incubator is intended as a launchpad for collaborative science, generating new ideas, networks, and frameworks to advance patient-centered skin research.

Grant category: Research Networking

Year: 2025

Geography: USA

The Vulvar Dermatology Research Consortium (VDRC) will host a special two-hour Young Investigators Symposium as part of its Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 26th, 2026, in Denver, Colorado. This event is designed for medical students, residents, dermatologists, and other physicians, patients, industry partners, and scientists interested in vulvar skin problems. Participants will share research, gain insights from vulvar skin experts, and connect with others in the field. Ultimately, this event will facilitate collaboration on vulvar skin health research, to promote improved outcomes for people living with vulvar skin conditions.

Grant category: Research Networking

Year: 2025

Geography: USA

The 2026 Epithelial Stem Cells and Niches Gordon Research Conference and Seminar will be held August 22–28, 2026, in Spain. It will bring skin researchers together with leading stem cell biologists working on other organ systems to cross-pollinate ideas and technologies. Interactions and collaborations that emerge from this conference will accelerate discovery in the skin and support the development of new cures for skin diseases. The meeting includes a dedicated session for trainees and will support early-career researchers through travel grants, mentoring, and short talk opportunities.