The 18 international researchers awarded a LEO Foundation Research Grant, each contributing to advancing skin science.
6 January 2026
18 Research Grants support cutting-edge research across the full spectrum of skin science.
The LEO Foundation has awarded DKK 66.9 million (EUR 9 million) to 18 international research projects through its Research Grants program. The grants support innovative research that will advance our understanding of the skin and its diseases.
The funded projects were selected from 147 applications submitted by researchers from 26 countries. Following scientific evaluation and review, 18 projects were awarded funding.
“With the LEO Foundation Research Grants, we support excellent researchers who are pushing the boundaries of skin science,” says Anne-Marie Engel, Chief Scientific Officer at the LEO Foundation, and continues:
“The 18 funded projects reflect both scientific depth and diversity, spanning fundamental biology, immunology, genetics and translational research bringing scientific insights closer to patients’ lives.”
18 projects funded through LEO Foundation Research Grants
- Abbas Shafiee, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Queensland, Australia
- Botond Igyártó, Associate Professor, Thomas Jefferson University, USA
- Christina Zielinski, Professor, University of Cambridge, UK
- Elizabeth Soares Fernandes, Associate Professor, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Esperanza Rivera de Torre, Assistant Professor, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
- Johanna Strobl, Senior Postdoc, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
- John Connelly, Professor, Queen Mary University of London, UK
- Kathleen Green, Professor, Northwestern University, USA
- Lars French, Professor, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, USA
- Lisa Zaba, Associate Professor, Stanford University, USA
- Marianne Løvendorf, Principal Investigator, Zealand University Hospital, Denmark
- Mark Mellett, Group Leader, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Michael Marks, Professor, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA
- Sabine Werner, Professor, ETH Zürich, Switzerland
- Sarah Hedtrich, Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada
- Stephane Roche, Associate Professor, Florida Atlantic University, USA
- Tim Stinear, Principal Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia
- Timothy Vyse, Professor, King’s College London, UK
Together, the projects address key challenges in dermatology, including wound healing, chronic inflammatory skin diseases, rare genetic skin diseases, fungal skin infections and novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches.
The LEO Foundation Research Grants program supports basic, translational and clinical research with the overarching goal of improving the lives of people living with skin diseases worldwide.