Astra Activities 2026-2028
Grantee: Mikkel Bohm, Astra
Amount: DKK 15,000,000
Grant category: Standalone grants
Year: 2026
Geography: Denmark
Astra is Denmark’s national STEM education center. The grant supports continuation and new developments for three core activities:
- Unge Forskere (“Young Scientists”): An annual science talent competition in which students of all age groups can pursue a project, often as an integrated part of their STEM classes.
- Science Talenter (“Science Talents”): Camps, classes, and conferences within STEM topics, anchored at Astra’s facilities in Sorø and aimed at talented pupils from Danish schools.
- Big Bang: An annual conference for STEM education professionals to gain new ideas and meet inspiring colleagues.
SIC Skin Immunology and Barrier Research in Sub-Saharan Africa
Grantee: Jonathan Coquet, University of Copenhagen, LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center
Amount: DKK 13,504,945
Grant category: Standalone grants
Year: 2026
Geography: Denmark
This grant will enable the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center to initiate long-term relations with universities and research institutions in Tanzania and South Africa through five complementary collaborative research projects:
- Allergic Contact Dermatitis in Tanzania
- Hand Dermatitis and Quality of Life in South Africa
- Immune Profiling and Allergen Sensitivity in Tanzanian Populations
- Clinical and Immunological Insights into Pityriasis Versicolor
- Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL) and Skin Microbiome in Tanzania
The grant and the projects will further support the center’s mission to be an international center of excellence for barrier tissue immunology research.
The Children’s Science Box (Børnenes forskerboks)
Grantee: Jakob Lund Pedersen, Børnebogsforlaget
Amount: DKK 1,506,000
Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants
Year: 2026
Geography: Denmark
A box of eight illustrated children’s books on the life and research of well-known Danish scientists is distributed to Danish kindergartens. The goal is to spark early scientific curiosity among the 4-6-year-olds and provide pedagogues with age-appropriate tools that are aligned with the STEM curriculum for kindergartens. The researchers are selected to balance concrete and abstract science, historic and modern-day scientists, and diversity in gender and ethnicity. The books are supplemented with educational material introducing preschoolers to hands-on experiments and playful activities related to the presented research fields. More than 3000 Danish kindergartens have already committed to receiving a box, and the municipality of Roskilde serves as a development and test partner.
Let’s Get Personal: Individual (Skin) Health in the World of Precision Medicine
Grantee: Ken Arnold, Medicinsk Museion
Amount: DKK 1,700,000
Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants
Year: 2026
Geography: Denmark
The university museum Medicinsk Museion will create a new major exhibition exploring precision health through science, culture, and history, including a focus on skin as a visible and personal organ and barrier. The goal is to enhance public understanding of personalized medicine and its ethical, social, and scientific perspectives. Target groups include the general public, students, and health professionals with an expected 500,000 visitors over the exhibition lifetime of ten years.