Max Sauerland & Mette Mogensen
12 August 2025
Two excellent scientists have been awarded a LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers grant – a program designed to foster a cohesive and agile skin research ecosystem driven by continuous curiosity and collaboration.
The LEO Foundation has awarded two Visiting Researchers grants to Associate Professor Mette Mogensen and Postdoctoral Researcher Max Sauerland.
The purpose of the LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers program is to strengthen scientific collaboration and facilitate the ongoing exchange of knowledge, ideas, methodology, and technology between Danish-based and international skin research communities.
From minimal biopsies to maximal insights: A deep proteomic and machine learning platform for targeting fibrosis in hidradenitis suppurativa
Max Sauerland, a postdoctoral researcher at the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center (SIC) at University of Copenhagen, will embark on a two-year translational research project focused on hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). HS is a chronic, painful skin condition marked by inflamed, painful and scarring areas often in intimate regions, with complex diagnostic and treatment challenges.
Max Sauerland’s project combines SIC’s sample preparation expertise with the advanced proteomic instrumentation and patient samples available at University Hospital Freiburg in Germany, where he will spend two years. Using innovative biochemical methods, his research will analyze thousands of proteins from skin and blood samples of over 150 HS patients. This approach aims to identify unique protein markers that can enable faster diagnosis and personalized treatment options, not only for HS but potentially for other skin diseases.
Max Sauerland receives DKK 1.9 million (EUR 258,000) to support his upcoming research stay.
Analyzing 3D images of calcinosis and angiogenesis in joint and skin – to treat untreatable disease
Chief Consultant and Associate Professor Mette Mogensen from Department of Dermatology at Bispebjerg Hospital and University of Copenhagen will spend a three-month research sabbatical visiting two leading centers for evolving skin imaging: the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine in the UK and Lund University’s Clinical Center for Spectral and Acoustic Imaging in Sweden, well-known for exceptional molecular imaging of blood vessels.
Mette Mogensen’s ongoing research focuses on patients with difficult-to-treat skin and joint diseases, such as systemic sclerosis and psoriatic arthritis, where calcium deposits and new blood vessel formation cause painful symptoms. During her stay, she will acquire advanced skills in 3D imaging techniques to better visualize these disease processes in skin and joints.
By mastering these innovative imaging technologies, Mette Mogensen aims to improve understanding of disease mechanisms, which could open new paths for diagnosis and treatment.
Mette Mogensen will receive DKK 391,000 (EUR 52,000) to support her upcoming research stay abroad.