The LEO Foundation Award 2024 – Region Asia-Pacific
Grantee: Satoru Yonekura, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Dermatology, Kyoto University, Japan
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2024
Geography: Japan
Satoru Yonekora is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Dermatology at Kyoto University in Japan
He was awarded the prestigious LEO Foundation Award 2024 in Region Asia-Pacific during the 49th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Satoru Yonekura’s research has contributed to new insights into how gut health influences melanoma and inflammatory skin diseases.
The LEO Foundation Award 2024 – Region EMEA
Grantee: Claire Higgins, Reader, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, UK
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2024
Geography: United Kingdom
Dr. Claire Higgins, is a Reader in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London in the UK,
She receives the award in support of her impressive academic achievements and her remarkable leadership within her research group and to future generations of skin scientists. Her research aims to achieve scarless wound healing in human skin by studying the human hair follicle and understanding how it can be used as a model for skin healing.
The LEO Foundation Award 2024 – Region Americas
Grantee: Shruti Naik, Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2024
Geography: USA
Dr. Shruti Naik is Associate Professor at the Ronald O Perelman Department of Dermatology, NYU Langone Health, in the US.
She receives the award in recognition of her exceptional scientific achievements, clear long-term career objectives, and innovative vision for skin research – which delves into the complex interactions between immune cells, surrounding skin cells, and skin-dwelling microbes to understand the origins and progression of skin diseases.
The LEO Foundation Award 2023 – Region Asia-Pacific
Grantee: Dr. Laura Mackay, Professor, The University of Melbourne
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2023
Geography: Australia
Dr. Laura Mackay is a Professor at The University of Melbourne in Australia.
She receives the award for her momentous work within the field of immunological memory, as she continues to build upon her own research shedding light on how tissue-resident T cells provide first-line defense against infection.
The LEO Foundation Award 2023 – Region EMEA
Grantee: Dr. Lavinia Paternoster, Associate Professor, University of Bristol
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2023
Geography: United Kingdom
Dr. Lavinia Paternoster is Associate Professor at the University of Bristol in the UK.
She receives the award for her research pushing the boundaries of our knowledge on the genetic landscape of skin diseases. Lavinia Paternoster’s work has led to significant breakthroughs in the understanding of atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and other complex human disorders.
The LEO Foundation Award 2023 – Region Americas
Grantee: Dr. William Damsky, Assistant Professor, Yale University
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2023
Geography: USA
Dr. William Damsky is Assistant Professor at Yale School of Medicine in the US.
He receives the award for his noteworthy contributions to the understanding of inflammatory skin diseases, as he particularly looks to expand our presently incomplete understanding of the cutaneous diseases Sarcoidosis and Granuloma Annulare (GA).
The LEO Foundation Award 2022 – Region Asia-Pacific
Grantee: Dr. Takashi Sakai, Assistant Professor, Oita University
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2022
Geography: Japan
Dr. Takashi Sakai is Assistant Professor at the Department of Dermatology at Oita University, Japan.
He receives the award in recognition of his visionary scientific approach to understanding the triggers and complications of atopic dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis is a debilitating skin condition that causes inflammation of the skin and affects nearly 20 percent of all people at some point in their life.
The LEO Foundation Award 2022 – Region EMEA
Grantee: Dr. Esther Hoste, Assistant Professor, Ghent University
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2022
Geography: Belgium
Dr. Esther Hoste is Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology at Ghent University, Belgium.
She receives the award for her impressive ability to produce research at the forefront of our understanding of skin biology and as a recognition of her exemplary leadership to her team and to future generations of researchers. Esther Hoste is a talent that has already demonstrated an extensive track record of providing advances to our understanding of the skin and its diseases – with important findings on the mechanisms behind wound healing, skin regeneration, skin inflammation and skin tumor formation published by herself and her lab.
The LEO Foundation Award 2022 – Region Americas
Grantee: Dr. Shadmehr Demehri, Associate Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2022
Geography: USA
Dr. Shawn Demehri is Associate Professor at the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA.
He receives the award for his more than noteworthy contributions to the dermatology field, his truly exciting trajectory within skin research as well as his clinical skills. Dr. Demehri is a brilliant and exceptionally talented physician-scientist who leads a creative and accomplished research team studying the intersection between the immune system and early cancer.
The LEO Foundation Award 2021 – Region Asia-Pacific
Grantee: Dr. Satoshi Nakamizo, Assistant Professor, Kyoto University
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2021
Geography: Japan
Dr. Satoshi Nakamizo is Assistant Professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
He receives the award for his excellent dermatological research, focused on the roles of antigen-presenting cells in chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis.